Question 1

Who owns the content Storylayer generates?

Accepted Answer

You do. Every Instagram Story, caption, and graphic generated by Storylayer belongs entirely to you. Storylayer is a tool — like Photoshop or Canva — and the output is yours. We make no claim of ownership over any content created using your data, brand assets, or connected accounts.

Question 2

Can Storylayer use my content to train AI models?

Accepted Answer

No. We will never use your specific content, brand assets, data source information, or generated stories to train AI models without your explicit, opt-in consent. We may use aggregated, anonymized usage statistics (e.g. "users generate X stories per month") to improve the product, but this contains no identifiable content or data.

Question 3

Who owns the data from my connected sources?

Accepted Answer

Your data source connections and the data they contain belong to you and the original data provider. When you connect Google Sheets, Airtable, or any API, Storylayer reads that data on your behalf solely to generate content. We don’t store your source data beyond what’s needed for the current generation task.

Question 4

What happens to my content if I cancel my subscription?

Accepted Answer

You retain ownership of all content you’ve generated regardless of subscription status. Before cancelling, you can export your content queue and generated stories from your dashboard. After account deletion, we retain your data for 30 days before permanently deleting it — giving you time to reconsider or export anything you need.

Question 5

Can Storylayer post content without my approval?

Accepted Answer

Only if you choose to enable posting on a schedule you control. By default, all generated content goes into your approval queue first. You can review, edit, approve, or reject each story before it’s posted. If you enable scheduled publishing, content that meets your configured rules will be published on your schedule — but you can disable this at any time.

Question 6

Will my audience know I use Storylayer?

Accepted Answer

On Free and Starter plans, yes — a small "Created with Storylayer" attribution is added to published content. This is visible to your audience and helps us grow the platform. On Pro and Agency plans, the attribution is removed entirely. Your audience will never know you’re using Storylayer — the content appears as if it was created and posted natively by your brand.

Question 7

Do I need my own API keys to use data sources like Open Meteo or Snowsure?

Accepted Answer

No. For built-in connectors like Open Meteo (weather) and Snowsure (ski conditions), Storylayer provides access through our own integration — you don’t need your own account or API key. These are included in your Storylayer subscription at no extra cost.

Question 8

Do I need my own Unsplash account to use background images?

Accepted Answer

No. Storylayer’s Unsplash integration uses our API key, so you get access to millions of high-quality photos without needing your own Unsplash account. However, Unsplash’s licensing terms require photographer attribution. Storylayer automatically adds a small photo credit to generated stories ("📷 Photo: [Photographer] / Unsplash") to comply with this requirement.

Question 9

Can I use my own images instead of Unsplash?

Accepted Answer

Yes. In your project settings you can set your image source to "My own images" and upload a library of brand photos. You can also set it to "From data source" if your connector provides image URLs (for example, Snowsure includes resort hero images, and Airtable records can contain image attachments).

Question 10

Is Open Meteo data accurate and reliable?

Accepted Answer

Open Meteo is a professional-grade weather API used by thousands of applications worldwide. It aggregates data from multiple national weather services (NOAA, ECMWF, DWD, and others) and provides forecasts accurate to 1km resolution. It’s free to use commercially under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license, and Storylayer handles attribution automatically.

Question 11

What happens if a connected data source goes down?

Accepted Answer

If a data source is temporarily unavailable, Storylayer will retry the connection up to 3 times before skipping the scheduled generation. You’ll receive a notification in your dashboard (and optionally by email) when a connector fails. Content that was already generated and queued is not affected.

Question 12

Can I connect the same data source to multiple projects?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A single data source connection can be used across multiple projects within your account. For example, you could connect one Open Meteo location to both a ski resort project and a travel agency project. Each connection counts toward your plan’s data source limit only once.

Question 13

How do I connect Airtable to Storylayer?

Accepted Answer

Go to Create A Story → Automation → Step 2 (Data & Source) and select Airtable. You’ll need your Airtable Personal Access Token (from airtable.com/account → Developer Hub → Personal tokens), your Base ID (found in the Airtable URL), and your table name. Storylayer will connect and read your column names automatically.

Question 14

What Airtable columns does Storylayer need?

Accepted Answer

Storylayer needs two special columns in your Airtable base: a checkbox column called "Post to Storylayer" (checking this triggers the publishing workflow) and a checkbox column called "Storylayer Posted" (Storylayer checks this automatically after posting). All other columns are your own data — you map them to your template fields during setup. Storylayer also writes back URLs to optional columns: Instagram URL, Facebook URL, X URL, Ghost URL, and Storylayer Error.

Question 15

Does Storylayer modify my Airtable data?

Accepted Answer

Storylayer only writes to the columns you configure for writeback: Storylayer Posted (checkbox), Storylayer Posted Date, and any URL fields you’ve added. It never modifies your source data — your prices, photos, descriptions, and other fields are read-only from Storylayer’s perspective.

Question 16

How often does Storylayer check Airtable for new records?

Accepted Answer

Every 5 minutes. When a row has "Post to Storylayer" checked and "Storylayer Posted" unchecked, Storylayer picks it up on the next polling cycle and begins processing. From checkbox to live post typically takes under 5 minutes.

Question 17

What happens if I uncheck "Storylayer Posted" on a row that's already been posted?

Accepted Answer

Storylayer will re-process the record on the next poll cycle. For channels that already have posts, the per-channel dedup will prevent duplicate posts. If you’ve added a new channel since the original post, only the new channel will be posted to.

Question 18

Can I use Airtable formulas or lookup fields as data sources?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Storylayer reads the resolved value of formula fields, not the formula itself. The "Instagram Name" field in Buy An A-Frame, for example, is an AI-generated formula field — Storylayer reads the final text value correctly.

Question 19

Can I connect my own API as a data source?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Storylayer connects to any publicly accessible JSON API endpoint. On the Data & Schedule step of the story wizard, select Custom API as your data source and enter your endpoint URL. Storylayer fetches a sample response and automatically detects available fields — no manual schema entry required.

Question 20

Does Storylayer support API authentication?

Accepted Answer

Yes. If your API requires authentication, you can add custom request headers when connecting your data source. This supports Bearer token authentication (Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY), API key headers, and any other header-based auth method.

Question 21

What format does my API need to return?

Accepted Answer

Storylayer expects a JSON response. It works with both array responses (a list of records) and single-object responses. If your endpoint returns an array, Storylayer uses each item as a separate post record. If it returns a single object, that object is used as the data source for each scheduled run.

Question 22

How do I map my API fields to a Creatomate template?

Accepted Answer

After connecting your API and selecting a template on the Configure Channels step, Storylayer shows a field mapping table. Template element names are on the left; your API fields are in the dropdowns on the right. As you map each field, the live preview updates in real time so you can see exactly how your data will look inside the template before activating.

Question 23

Can I use different field mappings for different channels?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Each channel — Instagram, Facebook, X, Ghost — has its own field mapping table. Instagram might map a portrait-format hero image while X maps a landscape crop of the same photo. You configure each channel independently.

Question 24

My API returns image URLs with query parameters (like Sanity or Cloudinary). Will those work?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Storylayer handles image URLs with query parameters correctly, including crop and resize parameters from CDNs like Sanity, Cloudinary, and Imgix. The full URL including parameters is passed to Creatomate for the final render, which produces correctly cropped and sized images in your posts.

Question 25

What happens if my API is down when a scheduled post runs?

Accepted Answer

If Storylayer cannot reach your API at the scheduled time, the run is skipped and logged as an error. You’ll see the error in your story’s activity log. Storylayer does not retry automatically, but the next scheduled run will attempt a fresh fetch.

Question 26

Can I post on a daily schedule from a live data source?

Accepted Answer

Yes — this is one of Storylayer’s core use cases. Connect your API, map your fields, set a daily schedule, and activate. Every day at your chosen time, Storylayer fetches fresh data from your API, renders your template, and posts to all configured channels automatically. Examples include daily conditions reports, property listings, inventory updates, and price alerts.

Question 27

What if my API returns the same data two days in a row?

Accepted Answer

Storylayer’s deduplication system detects when a record has already been posted and skips it to avoid duplicate posts. If your API returns a record with the same unique identifier as a previously posted record, that run will be skipped.

Question 28

Can I preview what my post will look like before activating?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The Configure Channels step includes a live preview that renders your Creatomate template with real data from your API. As you adjust field mappings, the preview updates instantly. You can also edit the AI-generated caption directly in the preview before saving.

Question 29

Do I need a Creatomate account to use a custom API data source?

Accepted Answer

No. Creatomate templates are optional. If you choose Photo + caption as the content type for a channel, Storylayer uses the image URL from your API directly without rendering a template. Creatomate is only required if you want branded visual templates.

Question 30

Can I use a custom API for some channels and a different data source for others?

Accepted Answer

Currently, each story has one primary data source that applies to all channels. If you need different data sources per channel, create separate stories — one per data source — and activate them independently.

Question 31

How does the AI decide what to post?

Accepted Answer

Storylayer’s AI monitors your connected data sources and looks for moments worth posting based on rules you define. For example: "Post a powder alert when fresh snowfall exceeds 20cm" or "Share a new listing whenever a property is added to my Airtable base." You set the rules — the AI handles the detection, timing, and content creation.

Question 32

Can the AI combine data from multiple sources?

Accepted Answer

Yes, on Pro and Agency plans. AI data combining allows Storylayer to cross-reference multiple data streams to create richer stories. For example, combining snow depth data with weekend weather forecasts and historical booking patterns to generate a "perfect weekend" post that’s more compelling than any single data point alone.

Question 33

How are captions generated?

Accepted Answer

Captions are written by AI (powered by OpenAI) using your data, brand context, and any tone guidelines you’ve set in your project. The AI is aware of your Instagram handle, industry, and the specific data driving each story. You can edit captions before publishing, set a default tone (professional, casual, urgent), or write your own caption templates with dynamic data placeholders.

Question 34

What if the AI generates something inappropriate or inaccurate?

Accepted Answer

All generated content goes through your approval queue before posting (unless you’ve enabled scheduled publishing). We strongly recommend reviewing content before it goes live, especially for time-sensitive or data-driven claims. You’re responsible for the accuracy of content published from your account — Storylayer provides tools to help you catch issues before they’re posted.

Question 35

Does the AI learn from my account over time?

Accepted Answer

On Pro and Agency plans, Storylayer tracks the performance of your posts (impressions, reach, engagement) and surfaces insights about what content resonates with your audience. Over time, the AI can use this performance data to suggest better posting times, content formats, and messaging angles. This learning is specific to your account and is never shared with other users.

Question 36

What is the AI Co-pilot and what can it do?

Accepted Answer

The AI Co-pilot is a built-in assistant inside Storylayer that helps you build and manage your publishing workflows. On Free and Starter plans, it can answer questions, explain features, and guide you through setting things up step by step. On Pro and Agency plans, it becomes fully active — it can read your connected data sources, understand your templates, and build entire publishing workflows for you from a single instruction. For example: “Set up a daily post showing my top 3 ski conditions every morning at 9am” — and it handles the rest.

Question 37

What is MCP and why does it matter?

Accepted Answer

MCP stands for Model Context Protocol — an open standard created by Anthropic that allows AI assistants like Claude to connect directly to external tools and services. Think of it as a universal plug that lets any compatible AI talk to Storylayer on your behalf. Once connected, you can manage your entire Storylayer account — creating publishing workflows, approving posts, reading analytics — just by having a conversation with your AI assistant, without ever opening the Storylayer dashboard. It’s available on Pro and Agency plans.

Question 38

Which AI assistants work with Storylayer’s MCP?

Accepted Answer

Any MCP-compatible AI assistant works, including Claude Desktop (Anthropic), Cursor (the AI code editor), and any other tool that supports the Model Context Protocol. The list of compatible tools is growing rapidly. You connect them by installing the storylayer-mcp package and adding your API key to the assistant’s configuration — full instructions are in Settings → API & Integrations.

Question 39

What can an AI assistant do with my Storylayer account via MCP?

Accepted Answer

Once connected, an AI assistant can: create and configure publishing workflows, activate and deactivate publishing workflows, test publishing workflows before they go live, read your content queue and approve or reject items, fetch analytics and surface insights, check which social accounts are connected, preview captions before they’re used, and get recommendations for what to post next. It cannot access your passwords, payment information, or any data outside your Storylayer account.

Question 40

Is MCP secure? Can the AI post things without my permission?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it’s secure. Your API key gives the AI access only to your Storylayer account — nothing else. The AI can only do what you explicitly ask it to do in that conversation. If your publishing workflow is set to “Add to queue for review” rather than “Post automatically”, the AI cannot bypass that — posts still require your approval before going live. You can revoke your API key at any time from Settings → API & Integrations, which immediately cuts off all external AI access.

Question 41

How do I get my API key?

Accepted Answer

Go to Settings → API & Integrations in your Storylayer dashboard. Click “Generate API Key”, give it a name (e.g. “Claude Desktop” or “Cursor”), and copy the key shown — it’s only displayed once so save it somewhere safe. Then follow the installation instructions on that page to add it to your AI assistant’s configuration. API key generation requires a Pro or Agency plan.

Question 42

How many MCP calls can I make per month?

Accepted Answer

Pro plans include 500 MCP tool calls per month — each action the AI takes on your behalf (creating a publishing workflow, fetching analytics, approving a post) counts as one call. Agency plans have unlimited calls. If you reach your limit you’ll be notified and can upgrade to Agency, or wait until the next billing cycle resets your count.

Question 43

What is the difference between the AI Co-pilot and MCP?

Accepted Answer

The AI Co-pilot is built into the Storylayer dashboard — it lives in the sidebar and helps you while you’re using the product. MCP is for using Storylayer from outside the dashboard entirely — through Claude Desktop, Cursor, or any other MCP-compatible AI tool. Both connect to the same underlying Storylayer API, but the Co-pilot is designed for guided, in-product assistance while MCP is designed for power users who want to manage Storylayer entirely through AI conversation.

Question 44

Can I use MCP to manage multiple client accounts?

Accepted Answer

Yes — this is one of the most powerful use cases for Agency plan users. You can generate separate API keys for different projects or clients, or use one key to manage your entire agency account. An AI assistant can loop through all your projects and perform bulk actions — for example: “Activate the daily conditions publishing workflow for all my ski resort clients” — in a single conversation.

Question 45

Will Storylayer support more AI integrations in the future?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Because Storylayer uses the open MCP standard, any AI tool that adopts MCP will automatically work with Storylayer — we don’t need to build separate integrations for each one. We’re also exploring direct integrations with AI workflow tools like n8n and Zapier’s AI features, as well as a public API for developers who want to build their own integrations on top of Storylayer.

Question 46

Does Storylayer post directly to Instagram?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Storylayer uses the official Meta Content Publishing API to publish Instagram Stories directly to your connected Business or Creator account. This is the same API used by tools like Hootsuite and Buffer — it’s fully sanctioned by Meta and won’t put your account at risk.

Question 47

What type of Instagram account do I need?

Accepted Answer

You need an Instagram Business or Creator account connected to a Facebook Page. Personal Instagram accounts are not supported by Meta’s Content Publishing API. Converting to a Business or Creator account is free and takes less than a minute in the Instagram app.

Question 48

Can Storylayer post to multiple Instagram accounts?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The number of Instagram accounts you can connect depends on your plan: Free (1), Starter (1), Pro (3), Agency (unlimited). Additional accounts can be added as an add-on at $10/month each.

Question 49

What happens if Instagram rejects a post?

Accepted Answer

If Meta’s API rejects a post (due to content policy violations, rate limits, or technical issues), the item is marked as "failed" in your content queue with an error message explaining the reason. You’ll receive a notification and can edit and resubmit, or manually download and post the story yourself.

Question 50

Can I schedule posts for specific times?

Accepted Answer

Yes. When approving content in your queue, you can set a specific publish time or let Storylayer post immediately. On Pro and Agency plans, the AI can suggest optimal posting times based on your audience’s engagement patterns.

Question 51

Can I post to Instagram, Facebook, X, and Ghost from one publishing workflow?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A single Storylayer publishing workflow can post to all four channels simultaneously from one Airtable record. Each channel gets its own appropriately formatted content — the Instagram carousel gets multiple slides, X gets a short punchy tweet, Ghost gets a full blog article. You can enable or disable individual channels at any time without affecting the others.

Question 52

Can I use different templates for different channels?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Each channel in your publishing workflow can use a different Creatomate template. For example, Buy An A-Frame uses a 1080×1350px portrait template for Instagram and Facebook, and a 1200×675px landscape template for X. Both are rendered from the same Airtable data in a single cron run.

Question 53

What happens if a post fails on one channel but succeeds on others?

Accepted Answer

The other channels are not affected — they post successfully regardless. The failed channel’s error message is written to the "Storylayer Error" column in Airtable. The post appears in your Storylayer queue with a "Failed" status on the affected channel. You can retry individual channels from the queue without re-triggering the entire pipeline.

Question 54

Can I add a new channel to an existing publishing workflow later?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and your historical records will be caught up automatically. When you add a new channel (say, X) to a publishing workflow that has already posted to Instagram and Facebook, Storylayer will pick up those records again on the next poll cycle. The existing channels are skipped by the dedup system — only the new channel gets new queue items. "Storylayer Posted" is only marked complete once all configured channels have been posted to.

Question 55

Does Ghost require a specific plan for the Storylayer integration?

Accepted Answer

Storylayer connects to Ghost via the Ghost Admin API, which requires the Publisher plan or higher for Ghost(Pro) hosted sites. Self-hosted Ghost instances include API access on all plans. You’ll need your Ghost site URL and an Admin API key (found in Ghost Admin → Settings → Integrations → Add custom integration).

Question 56

Does Storylayer write post URLs back to Airtable?

Accepted Answer

Yes. After successfully posting to each channel, Storylayer writes the live post URL back to the corresponding URL column in your Airtable base (Instagram URL, Facebook URL, X URL, Ghost URL). It also checks the "Storylayer Posted" checkbox and fills in the "Storylayer Posted Date" field. This gives you a permanent audit trail of every post, directly in your database.

Question 57

How does Storylayer prevent duplicate posts?

Accepted Answer

Storylayer uses three layers of deduplication: an in-memory check at the start of each poll run, a database-level unique constraint on (project, record ID, channel), and Airtable’s own filter that excludes already-posted records. All three must pass before a record is processed. Even if two cron instances run simultaneously, the database constraint ensures a record can only be posted once per channel.

Question 58

Can I review and edit posts before they go live?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can set your publishing workflow to require approval before posting. In this mode, Storylayer generates the graphic and caption and adds the post to your queue with "Approved — ready to post" status. You can review the content, edit the caption, change the image, or reject the post entirely before it goes live.

Question 59

What AI model does Storylayer use for captions?

Accepted Answer

Storylayer uses GPT-4o for all AI-generated content including property names, Instagram captions, Facebook captions, tweets, and Ghost blog articles. Each piece of content is generated fresh for each record using that record’s specific data — so no two posts have the same caption.

Question 60

What size should my Creatomate template be?

Accepted Answer

For Instagram feed posts and Facebook, use 1080 × 1350px (4:5 portrait ratio). This is the ideal size for the Instagram feed and renders well on Facebook. For X / Twitter, use 1200 × 675px (16:9 landscape). You can use the same template for Instagram and Facebook if you prefer a single template.

Question 61

Do I need a Creatomate account?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Storylayer uses Creatomate to render your branded graphics. You’ll need a Creatomate account and a template ID to connect to Storylayer. Creatomate has a free tier that includes a limited number of renders per month — for higher volume publishing workflows, a paid Creatomate plan is recommended. You can also use Storylayer’s built-in templates without your own Creatomate account.

Question 62

Can I use the same Creatomate template for multiple publishing workflows?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A single Creatomate template can be used across multiple Storylayer publishing workflows and projects. The template ID is stored per publishing workflow, so each publishing workflow can use the same or a different template.

Question 63

What does "Created with Storylayer" mean on my posts?

Accepted Answer

On Free and Starter plans, every story you publish includes a small "Created with Storylayer" attribution. This appears as a subtle watermark or credit line on the published content. It's how we keep Storylayer free and affordable — your great content helps more people discover the platform. On Pro and Agency plans, this attribution is completely removed and your stories are published under your brand only, with no mention of Storylayer. If you're working with clients or want a fully white-label experience, upgrading removes the branding instantly.

Question 64

How does the free trial work?

Accepted Answer

Every new account gets a 14-day free trial of the Pro plan — no credit card required. You get access to all Pro features including AI data combining, 3 data sources, Instagram scheduled publishing, and no Storylayer branding on your posts. At the end of 14 days, your account automatically moves to the Free plan unless you choose a paid subscription.

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