Score every hook before you brief the shoot.
Hooklayer is the viral-content research API DTC creative teams use to test hooks, predict virality, and reverse-engineer competitor accounts, before spending on production. Score 10 hook variants in 30 seconds. Analyze 5 competitors in 2 minutes. Fresh scripts from any viral URL in one call. 100K+ viral TikTok + YouTube videos indexed.
No card required. Pro tier ($149/mo) sized for 5-10 person creative teams. Agency tier ($499/mo) for creative agencies serving multiple DTC clients.
Hooklayer is a viral-content research API that scores hooks 0-100, predicts virality, extracts competitor Viral DNA, and generates fresh scripts from any TikTok or YouTube URL. Used by DTC brands and creative agencies to de-risk ad creative decisions before production spend. Median hook-scoring latency: under 400ms. Cost per test: 1 credit (~$0.02).
Unlike ad library dashboards (Motion, Foreplay, Atria) that show you what already ran, Hooklayer is upstream of the ad, it scores what will work. Complementary tools: use Motion/Foreplay to source viral competitor ads, then use Hooklayer to score them, extract the DNA, and generate your own variants. Per Kit's April 2026 creator survey (n=550), 82.7% of creators want AI ideation/research partners vs 39.3% who want generation, the underserved lane is upstream research, not more generators.
8 tools organized into 4 workflow layers: Score (hook + virality scoring), Research (trends + templates + video search), Analyze (creator account + voice extraction), and Generate (URL-to-script remix). Both REST API (for Airtable / Notion / custom dashboards) and MCP server (for Claude / Cursor / n8n workflows) on the same endpoints.
Every one costs less than one A/B ad variant.
Each of these is what DTC creative teams actually do with Hooklayer, not generic use cases. Total cost per workflow: under $1.
Weekly competitor sweep
Problem, Your creative director wants to know what 5 competitors shipped this week and why it worked.
Solution, Chain analyze_account on 5 handles. Each returns Viral DNA scores, steal_map, and recommended_chain (which tool to run next). ~2 minutes, $0.35 total. Deliver a memo instead of a slide deck.
analyze_accountmatch_voicetrend_pulsePre-brief hook testing
Problem, You have 8 hook ideas for a launch and no idea which to spend $2,500 filming.
Solution, Run score_hook on all 8. Get 0-100 scores + scroll-stop velocity + 3 stronger rewrites per hook. Ship the top 3 to the UGC studio. ~30 seconds, $0.16 total.
score_hookpredict_viralityViral URL to production script
Problem, CMO forwards a viral TikTok with "why are we not doing this?" You need a briefable script by end of day.
Solution, viral_remix takes the URL, extracts the beat-by-beat structure, and returns a fresh script in the target voice with phone-native camera notes. Hand it to the UGC creator, film tomorrow.
viral_remixmatch_voiceNiche trend intelligence
Problem, You are launching in a new vertical (skincare, fitness, supplements) and need to know what formats are peaking THIS week.
Solution, trend_pulse for the niche returns 3 rising format/hook/style trends + 2 saturated patterns to avoid. Refresh weekly. Cost: 1 credit per pull.
trend_pulsefind_viral_templateAd script pre-flight
Problem, Your team wrote 3 script variants and you need to know which will convert before spending on production.
Solution, predict_virality scores each script with an adversarial attack-vector check + SHIP / REWORK / NO-GO verdict. Attack vectors named: skip_at_3s, credibility_collapse, comment_killer, algorithm_suppressed, etc. Fix before you film.
predict_viralityscore_hookVoice consistency across UGC creators
Problem, You work with 4 UGC creators and their scripts sound like 4 different brands.
Solution, match_voice extracts a shared voice signature from reference videos, returns reusable prompt_instructions your team pastes into every script brief. Voice consistency across creators without a style guide.
match_voiceviral_remix5 teams that use Hooklayer as their upstream research layer.
Skincare, supplements, apparel, home goods teams testing viral hook variants before production spend
Agencies serving multiple DTC clients, using Hooklayer to research competitors and generate ad variants at volume
Studios producing 30+ ads per week using viral_remix to feed briefable scripts to their creator roster
In-house creative strategists running weekly competitor sweeps + hook testing before every ad flight
Independent creative strategists who need enterprise-grade viral research on a solo budget
Common questions from DTC teams.
How does Hooklayer help DTC marketers before launching ad creative?
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Instead of guessing which hook will convert, DTC marketers use Hooklayer to score every hook 0-100 against 100K+ viral videos, predict virality with an adversarial attack-vector check, and find proven templates from creators who already won in your niche. Test 10 hook variants before you brief the UGC studio. Cost per test: 1 credit ($0.02).
Can I run competitor analysis on top-performing creator accounts?
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Yes. analyze_account takes a TikTok handle and returns full Viral DNA (consistency score, hook reuse rate, format fingerprint, replicability score, originality score) plus a steal_map that says "this pattern is transferable, adapt it to your brand this way." Costs 5 credits per account. Standard workflow: analyze 3-5 competitors before every ad flight.
Does Hooklayer work for TikTok Shop creative teams?
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Yes. viral_remix takes any TikTok Shop video URL and returns a fresh script mirroring the viral DNA, structured for phone-native filming. The de-funneled CTA rotation (bio-link, soft-question, share-driven) avoids the comment-gate pattern that TikTok engagement-bait suppression penalizes.
How does this compare to Motion, Foreplay, and Atria for creative teams?
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Motion, Foreplay, and Atria are ad library dashboards, they show you what ran. Hooklayer is a research API, it scores what will work. Complementary tools: use Motion/Foreplay to source viral competitor ads, then use Hooklayer to score them, extract the DNA, and generate your own variants. Different jobs, different lanes.
What does the DTC pricing structure look like?
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Free tier: 50 credits (no card). Hobby: $19/mo (1,200 credits). Starter: $49/mo (3,200 credits). Pro: $149/mo (10,000 credits, sized for 5-10 person creative teams). Agency: $499/mo (32,000 credits, sized for creative agencies serving multiple DTC clients). PAYG: $25 (1,500 credits, never expire).
Does Hooklayer integrate with our creative testing loop?
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Yes. Both REST API and MCP server. REST for backend integrations (Airtable creative brief automation, Notion tracker updates, custom dashboards). MCP for Claude/Cursor workflows (drop a video URL into Claude, get scored + remixed inside your existing thinking flow). Same 8 tools on both protocols.
Stop briefing shoots based on gut.
Score every hook first. Predict virality before production. Reverse-engineer the competitor accounts your CMO keeps sending. All 8 tools, both REST and MCP, on 50 free credits, no card.