0 to 13K followers in 2 months, with AI writing and editing every reel
How Afthab grew a new Instagram page from zero to 13K followers in 2 months, and the AI workflow behind it.
@afthab.zaman- Followers at start
- 0
- Followers now
- 13.2K
- Months
- 2
- Best reel views
- 437K
Where it started
Afthab runs OpenState, the AI implementation company we started in Dubai. In August 2026 he started posting reels on @afthab.zaman, all about one thing: AI tools, tested so you don’t have to.
Afthab records himself talking. Claude writes the script before that and edits the video after.
His first reel went up on 5 August and asked viewers to comment “LinkedIn” for the details. It reached 293K views and 14K comments. On 24 August, a reel asking for “Tools” passed 437K views. By 9 October the page had 13.2K followers from 36 posts.
The AI workflow
- Test an AI tool and pick one result worth showing.
- Claude writes the script, ending with a comment keyword like “LinkedIn” or “Tools”. Claude
- Record the talking-head.
- Claude edits the video. Claude
- Post it, then send the promised details to everyone who comments the keyword.
What moved the numbers
- Comment keywords did the heavy lifting. The first reel asked for “LinkedIn” and got 14K comments.
- A few reels carried the growth. Of the 20 reels on his profile on 9 October, 5 passed 100K views, and most of the others stayed under 40K.
- He kept posting through the quiet ones: 18 reels between 4 September and 8 October, about one every two days.
- Every reel sticks to one topic, AI tools people can use, so new viewers know what they get if they follow.
Copy this week
- Pick one topic you can post about every two days.
- Ask Claude for a script with a hook, the demo and a comment keyword at the end.
- Record it in one take and let AI do the edit.
- Give people something real for the keyword: a guide, a tool list or a template.
- Post for a month before judging it. Afthab’s biggest reels came between quieter ones.