YouTube Channel Lookalike Finder

Find similar YouTube channels from seed creators, handles, channel IDs, or topical keywords. Use it to build creator prospect lists, map competitor channels, and discover partnership opportunities from public YouTube pages.

What does YouTube Channel Lookalike Finder do?

This actor takes one or more seed YouTube channels and searches for channels that look topically related. It samples public channel metadata, recent video titles, and optional keywords, then returns ranked lookalike channel records.

The output is designed for influencer discovery, sponsorship research, content marketing, and competitive intelligence.

Who is it for?

• 🎯 Influencer marketing teams finding creators similar to a known partner.
• 🧲 Sponsorship sales teams building prospect lists by niche.
• 📈 SEO and content teams mapping topic clusters on YouTube.
• 🧪 Startup founders researching competitors and adjacent creators.
• 🧰 Data teams enriching creator CRMs with public channel metadata.

Why use this actor?

Manual YouTube discovery is slow. You search a seed channel, inspect videos, try related phrases, and copy channel links one by one. This actor automates that first-pass discovery and gives you structured rows ready for spreadsheets, CRMs, and enrichment workflows.

How it works

1. Loads public seed channel pages with HTTP.
2. Extracts title, description, channel ID, subscribers when public, and recent video titles.
3. Builds discovery queries from your seed channel and keywords.
4. Searches YouTube channel results.
5. Scores each discovered channel using overlapping topical terms and available public metadata.
6. Saves one dataset item per lookalike channel.

What data can I extract?

Field	Description
seedChannel	Source seed channel used for discovery
seedTitle	Public seed channel title
matchedChannelUrl	Similar channel URL
matchedChannelId	YouTube channel ID when available
matchedHandle	Public @handle when available
matchedTitle	Similar channel title
description	Public channel description snippet
subscriberCountText	Public subscriber count text
subscriberCount	Parsed subscriber count number
videoCountText	Public video count text
thumbnailUrl	Channel thumbnail URL
similarityScore	1-100 topical similarity score
similarityReasons	Human-readable reasons for the match
discoveryQuery	Query that found the channel
overlapTerms	Terms shared with seed/keywords
recentVideos	Recent seed-channel video context
publicEmails	Emails visible in public page HTML, if any
scrapedAt	ISO scrape timestamp

How much does it cost to find YouTube lookalike channels?

The actor uses pay-per-event pricing. There is a small run-start charge and a per-result charge for each lookalike channel saved. You control cost with maxResults.

Start with 10-25 results while testing a niche, then increase the limit for larger prospecting jobs.

Quick start

1. Open the actor on Apify.
2. Add one or more seed YouTube channels.
3. Add optional keywords for your niche.
4. Set maxResults.
5. Run the actor.
6. Export the dataset as CSV, JSON, Excel, or via API.

Input example

{
  "seedChannels": ["https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd"],
  "keywords": ["consumer technology reviews"],
  "maxResults": 25,
  "maxVideosPerSeed": 6,
  "includeEmails": true,
  "languageCode": "en",
  "regionCode": "US"
}

Input fields

seedChannels

Seed YouTube channels. You can use full URLs, @handles, channel IDs, or plain handles.

keywords

Optional topical phrases. These help the actor broaden discovery beyond the seed channel metadata.

maxResults

Maximum similar channel records to save.

maxVideosPerSeed

How many recent seed-channel video titles to use as similarity context.

includeEmails

When enabled, the actor extracts email addresses only if they are visible in public page HTML/metadata without login.

languageCode and regionCode

YouTube localization hints used while fetching pages and search results.

Output example

{
  "seedChannel": "https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd",
  "seedTitle": "Marques Brownlee",
  "matchedChannelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@exampletech",
  "matchedHandle": "@exampletech",
  "matchedTitle": "Example Tech Reviews",
  "subscriberCountText": "1.2M subscribers",
  "subscriberCount": 1200000,
  "similarityScore": 74,
  "similarityReasons": ["Shared topical terms: tech, reviews", "Discovered from query: consumer technology reviews"],
  "discoveryQuery": "consumer technology reviews",
  "overlapTerms": ["tech", "reviews"],
  "publicEmails": [],
  "scrapedAt": "2026-05-24T00:00:00.000Z"
}

Tips for better results

• Use 2-5 seed channels from the same niche.
• Add keywords that buyers or fans would use.
• Keep maxResults low for test runs.
• Use region and language hints for localized creator discovery.
• Review similarityReasons before importing records into a CRM.

Common workflows

Influencer prospecting

Start with creators you already sponsor. Export similar channels and enrich them with your internal outreach status.

Competitor research

Start with a competitor's YouTube channel. Discover adjacent channels competing for the same audience.

Content gap analysis

Use keyword-only or seed-plus-keyword runs to map creators around a topic cluster.

Agency lead generation

Run one seed channel per client vertical, export CSV, and hand qualified rows to outreach specialists.

Integrations

• Google Sheets: export CSV or connect via Apify API.
• Airtable: import JSON/CSV dataset exports.
• HubSpot: send matched channel URLs to enrichment workflows.
• Clay: use dataset API output as a lead source.
• Make/Zapier: trigger follow-up automations after each run.

API usage

Node.js

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('automation-lab/youtube-channel-lookalike-finder').call({
  seedChannels: ['https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd'],
  keywords: ['consumer technology reviews'],
  maxResults: 25
});
console.log(run.defaultDatasetId);

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient
import os

client = ApifyClient(os.environ['APIFY_TOKEN'])
run = client.actor('automation-lab/youtube-channel-lookalike-finder').call(run_input={
    'seedChannels': ['https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd'],
    'keywords': ['consumer technology reviews'],
    'maxResults': 25,
})
print(run['defaultDatasetId'])

cURL

curl -X POST 'https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/automation-lab~youtube-channel-lookalike-finder/runs?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"seedChannels":["https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd"],"keywords":["consumer technology reviews"],"maxResults":25}'

MCP: use with AI agents

Use Apify MCP with Claude Code, Claude Desktop, or other MCP clients:

https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=automation-lab/youtube-channel-lookalike-finder

Claude Code CLI setup:

$claude mcp add apify-youtube-lookalikes https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=automation-lab/youtube-channel-lookalike-finder

Claude Desktop JSON configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify-youtube-lookalikes": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=automation-lab/youtube-channel-lookalike-finder"
    }
  }
}

Example prompts:

• "Find 25 channels similar to this YouTube creator and summarize the top prospects."
• "Build a spreadsheet of creator prospects for consumer tech reviews."
• "Compare the similarity reasons and pick the best sponsorship targets."

Data quality notes

YouTube may localize labels and hide some counts. The actor stores both raw count text and parsed numeric values when parsing is possible. Similarity scores are discovery signals, not a guarantee of audience overlap.

Limits and caveats

This actor uses public YouTube pages only. It does not log in, bypass paywalls, access private contact details, or call private YouTube APIs. Some public data may be unavailable depending on channel settings and YouTube layout changes.

Troubleshooting

Why did I get fewer results than requested?

The search niche may have fewer public channel results, or duplicates may be removed across queries. Add broader keywords or more seed channels.

Why are public emails empty?

Most YouTube contact emails require login or CAPTCHA on the About page. This actor only returns emails visible in public HTML/metadata without login.

Legality

This actor extracts publicly available information. You are responsible for using the data lawfully, respecting applicable privacy rules, honoring YouTube's terms, and complying with outreach regulations such as CAN-SPAM and GDPR.

Related scrapers

• YouTube Scraper: https://apify.com/automation-lab/youtube-scraper
• YouTube Channel Scraper: https://apify.com/automation-lab/youtube-channel-scraper
• TikTok Profile Scraper: https://apify.com/automation-lab/tiktok-profile-scraper
• Instagram Profile Scraper: https://apify.com/automation-lab/instagram-profile-scraper
• Website Email Scraper: https://apify.com/automation-lab/website-email-scraper

FAQ

Can I use only keywords?

Yes. If no seed channel is provided, the actor can run from keywords, but seed channels usually produce better topical context.

Does it use the official YouTube API?

No. It extracts public web data from YouTube pages.

Can it find hidden business emails?

No. It only returns emails that are public in visible HTML/metadata without authentication.

Can I export to Excel?

Yes. Apify datasets support CSV, JSON, XML, RSS, and Excel-compatible exports.

How should I pick seed channels?

Use channels that represent your target niche clearly. Avoid mixing unrelated niches in the same small run.

Changelog

• 0.1.0 Initial build with seed channel loading, YouTube channel search, similarity scoring, and public email extraction from visible HTML.

Support

If a run fails or YouTube changes its page structure, open an Apify issue with the run URL and input. Include seed channels, keywords, and expected output so we can reproduce quickly.