# Ad Creative Scorer (UGC & Paid Social) (`exepal/ad-creative-score`) Actor

Score a TikTok, Reels, Shorts or Meta ad script before spending on it: hook, clarity, call to action, platform fit, pacing and credibility, with concrete rewrites and a risk verdict. Pay per creative.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/exepal/ad-creative-score.md
- **Developed by:** [Laxman Kafle](https://apify.com/exepal) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $250.00 / 1,000 creative scoreds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Ad Creative Scorer — UGC & paid social

**Score a TikTok, Reels, Shorts or Meta ad before you spend on it.** Hook, clarity, CTA, platform fit, pacing and credibility, each 0–100 with the reason, plus concrete rewrites (a stronger first line, a better CTA, a caption that fits) and a risk flag.

Most paid-social budget is lost in the first two seconds, to a CTA nobody heard, or to a script that sounds like a press release. This tool catches that from the script, overlays and caption alone, so you can fix a creative for $0.25 instead of learning the same thing from a $500 test.

### What you get

For each creative in the batch:

| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| `overall` | 0–100 composite, weighted for your objective (awareness, conversion, app-install) |
| `scores.hook` | Does the first value statement land inside the platform's attention window? Is the opener a pattern interrupt or a brand intro? |
| `scores.clarity` | Is the product named, is a concrete benefit stated, are sentences short, is there corporate filler? |
| `scores.cta` | Is there an ask, does its verb match the objective, is it placed after the proof, is it repeated in the caption? |
| `scores.platformFit` | Length, caption length, hashtag count, creator-voice markers and sound-off readiness vs the platform's norms |
| `scores.pacing` | Spoken words per second and beats per 10 seconds vs what feels native on that platform |
| `scores.credibility` | First-person experience, specific numbers, admitted downsides, risky claims ("guaranteed", "#1", "clinically proven") |
| `fixes[]` | Concrete rewrites: `first-line`, `cta`, `caption`, `on-screen-text`, `script`, `duration` |
| `predictedRisk` | `low` / `medium` / `high` chance the creative underperforms or fails ad review |
| `notes[]` | What was measured vs estimated, and the specific phrases that cost points |
| `metrics` | The raw numbers behind the rules (words/s, hook seconds, caption chars, CTA position, markers found) |

Example output for a brand-written Reel:

```json
{
  "id": "brand-v2",
  "product": "SleepWell Pro",
  "platform": "instagram-reels",
  "objective": "conversion",
  "overall": 23,
  "scores": {
    "hook": { "score": 7, "reason": "value statement lands at 44.7s, far past the 2s Instagram Reels window; opener \"Introducing SleepWell Pro, the industry-\" reads as a brand intro, not a pattern interrupt" },
    "clarity": { "score": 30, "reason": "product is named; no concrete benefit; filler: \"industry-leading\", \"revolutionary\", \"we are proud\", \"introducing\"" },
    "cta": { "score": 65, "reason": "CTA found: \"Visit our website to learn more.\"; verb does not match a conversion objective (shop/try/code/link); placed in the final third" },
    "platformFit": { "score": 8, "reason": "45s is long for Instagram Reels (sweet spot 7-30s); 13 hashtags reads as spam; no on-screen text; ~40% of Reels views are muted" },
    "pacing": { "score": 15, "reason": "0.76 words/s is slow for Instagram Reels (2.1-3.2); only 0.7 beats per 10s" },
    "credibility": { "score": 0, "reason": "no first-person experience; no specifics; risky claims: \"guaranteed\", \"#1\", \"the best\"; speaks as \"we\", the brand, not a person" }
  },
  "fixes": [
    { "target": "first-line", "current": "Introducing SleepWell Pro, the industry-leading solution for all your sleep needs.", "suggested": "I almost didn't post this, but SleepWell Pro fixed the one thing light sleepers like me had given up on.", "why": "Opens on a person and a problem inside the 2s Instagram Reels window instead of a brand intro." },
    { "target": "cta", "suggested": "Tap the link and grab SleepWell Pro with the code in my bio. If it doesn't work for you, send it back.", "why": "Current ask does not match a conversion objective." },
    { "target": "caption", "suggested": "SleepWell Pro: the one thing I'd keep if I had to cut everything else. Details in the video. #sleepwellpro #lightsleepers", "why": "Under 125 characters so it shows in full on Instagram Reels." },
    { "target": "duration", "current": "45s", "suggested": "Cut to 30s or under: keep hook, one proof moment, CTA.", "why": "Instagram Reels completion rate falls sharply past 30s." }
  ],
  "predictedRisk": "high",
  "notes": ["Claims likely to fail ad review or trust: guaranteed, #1, the best.", "No first-person markers; on Instagram Reels this will be read as an ad within a second."]
}
```

The same product written as a creator ("Okay so I haven't slept through the night in two years... I tried Loop earplugs for a week, not sponsored... code SLEEP10") scores 97 with `low` risk. The gap is what you are paying to find before launch.

### Who uses this

- **Performance marketers** screening 10–50 creative variants before picking the three to test.
- **UGC platforms and creator marketplaces** returning a score and rewrite to the creator before the brand sees the draft, cutting revision rounds.
- **Agencies** adding a pre-flight check to every ad brief and showing the client why a script was changed.
- **AI agents** generating ad copy that need a judge in the loop: generate, score, keep the best, regenerate the rest.

### Pricing

Pay per event. No subscription.

- **$0.25 per creative scored**

Scoring 20 variants costs $5.00. The deterministic rules always run; when an AI model pass is enabled, its reads are cached for 24 hours, so re-scoring an unchanged creative costs nothing extra upstream.

**Bring your own keys:** add an OpenAI, Anthropic or Google AI key in the input to use your own quota for the model pass. The per-creative price stays the same.

### Input

`creatives[]` — one to fifty objects:

| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| `platform` | yes | `tiktok`, `instagram-reels`, `youtube-shorts`, `meta-feed` |
| `objective` | yes | `awareness`, `conversion`, `app-install` — sets the dimension weights and what counts as a good CTA |
| `product` | yes | `Loop earplugs` |
| `script` | one of | voiceover or transcript |
| `onScreenText` | one of | text overlays in order, `["2 years of no sleep", "code SLEEP10"]` |
| `caption` | one of | post caption / primary text |
| `audience` | | `light sleepers` — used in rewrites |
| `durationSec` | | video length; needed for pacing and length fit |
| `hookSec` | | seconds until the first value statement; estimated from the script when omitted |
| `id` | | your own reference, echoed back |

`useLlm` (default `true`) turns the model pass on or off.

### Platform norms used

| | Hook window | Length sweet spot | Spoken words/s | Caption before "more" | Sound-off share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok | 1.5s | 9–34s | 2.3–3.4 | 150 chars | ~25% |
| Instagram Reels | 2s | 7–30s | 2.1–3.2 | 125 chars | ~40% |
| YouTube Shorts | 3s | 15–45s | 2.2–3.3 | 70 chars | ~15% |
| Meta feed | 3s | 6–15s | 1.8–2.9 | 125 chars | ~85% |

These are working norms from paid-social practice, not platform-published figures. They live in one table in the source so they can be tuned as the platforms change.

### Use from code or an AI agent

**Apify API (Node):**

```js
import { ApifyClient } from "apify-client";
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor("exepal/ad-creative-score").call({
  creatives: [
    { id: "v1", platform: "tiktok", objective: "conversion", product: "Loop earplugs", script: "...", caption: "...", durationSec: 24 },
    { id: "v2", platform: "tiktok", objective: "conversion", product: "Loop earplugs", script: "...", caption: "...", durationSec: 31 }
  ]
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
for (const r of items) console.log(r.id, r.overall, r.predictedRisk, r.fixes[0]?.suggested);
```

**MCP (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor):** add `exepal/ad-creative-score` to the Apify MCP server at `https://mcp.apify.com` and ask: *"Score this TikTok script for a conversion campaign for Loop earplugs and rewrite the hook and CTA."* The agent fills the input, pays per creative and gets back structured scores and rewrites it can act on.

**Direct HTTP with USDC (x402):** the same tool is available at `https://api.exepal.com/v1/ad-creative-score` for agents that pay per request in stablecoins. See [exepal.com](https://exepal.com).

### How it works

1. **Deterministic rules (60%)**: measures hook timing against the platform window, opener type, CTA presence/verb/position, words per second, caption length and hashtag count, first-person creator markers, a corporate-filler list and a risky-claims list. Every point gained or lost has a sentence attached.
2. **Model pass (40%, when a key is available)**: a performance-creative-director prompt returns strict JSON with per-dimension second opinions, a credibility read ("would this viewer believe this person?") and rewrites in the creator's voice. The JSON is validated against a schema; anything malformed is discarded and the rules stand alone, with a note in the output.
3. **Merge**: dimension scores blend 60/40, the composite is weighted by objective, risk is derived from the composite, the hook score and the claims found.

### Limits and notes

- This scores the words. It does not see the video, so lighting, cuts, faces and music are out of scope; the `onScreenText` and `durationSec` fields carry what it can infer about the edit.
- The weak-phrase and risky-claim lists are English. Other languages get rules on structure (timing, length, CTA position) but not on wording.
- Scores are relative within a platform and objective. Compare variants against each other, not a TikTok against a Meta feed ad.

### About Exepal

[Exepal](https://exepal.com) builds paid, agent-ready tools: upstream APIs in, computed answers out. Questions or custom runs: contact@laxmankafle.com

# Actor input Schema

## `creatives` (type: `array`):

One or more ads to score (max 50). Each needs platform, objective, product and at least one of script, onScreenText or caption. Optional: audience, durationSec, hookSec (seconds until the first value statement), id.

## `useLlm` (type: `boolean`):

Blend the deterministic rules (60%) with a model read (40%) that writes the rewrites and judges credibility. Requires an API key below or Exepal managed keys. Off = rules only, still charged per creative.

## `openaiApiKey` (type: `string`):

Optional. Use your own OpenAI key so upstream usage is billed to your account. Leave empty to use Exepal's managed key.

## `anthropicApiKey` (type: `string`):

Optional. Use your own Anthropic key so upstream usage is billed to your account. Leave empty to use Exepal's managed key.

## `googleApiKey` (type: `string`):

Optional. Use your own Google AI key so upstream usage is billed to your account. Leave empty to use Exepal's managed key.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "creatives": [
    {
      "id": "ugc-v1",
      "platform": "tiktok",
      "objective": "conversion",
      "product": "Loop earplugs",
      "audience": "light sleepers",
      "script": "Okay so I haven't slept through the night in two years because my partner snores. I tried Loop earplugs for a week, not sponsored. Night one I woke up at 7am, no alarm. They cut about 25 decibels but I can still hear my kid. Only thing, the small tips fit me better than the medium. If you're a light sleeper, grab them with the link in my bio and use code SLEEP10.",
      "onScreenText": [
        "2 years of no sleep",
        "Loop earplugs, day 7",
        "code SLEEP10"
      ],
      "caption": "Honestly wish I'd found these sooner. Code SLEEP10 in bio #loopearplugs #lightsleeper #sleep",
      "durationSec": 24,
      "hookSec": 1.2
    }
  ],
  "useLlm": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "creatives": [
        {
            "id": "ugc-v1",
            "platform": "tiktok",
            "objective": "conversion",
            "product": "Loop earplugs",
            "audience": "light sleepers",
            "script": "Okay so I haven't slept through the night in two years because my partner snores. I tried Loop earplugs for a week, not sponsored. Night one I woke up at 7am, no alarm. They cut about 25 decibels but I can still hear my kid. Only thing, the small tips fit me better than the medium. If you're a light sleeper, grab them with the link in my bio and use code SLEEP10.",
            "onScreenText": [
                "2 years of no sleep",
                "Loop earplugs, day 7",
                "code SLEEP10"
            ],
            "caption": "Honestly wish I'd found these sooner. Code SLEEP10 in bio #loopearplugs #lightsleeper #sleep",
            "durationSec": 24,
            "hookSec": 1.2
        }
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("exepal/ad-creative-score").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "creatives": [{
            "id": "ugc-v1",
            "platform": "tiktok",
            "objective": "conversion",
            "product": "Loop earplugs",
            "audience": "light sleepers",
            "script": "Okay so I haven't slept through the night in two years because my partner snores. I tried Loop earplugs for a week, not sponsored. Night one I woke up at 7am, no alarm. They cut about 25 decibels but I can still hear my kid. Only thing, the small tips fit me better than the medium. If you're a light sleeper, grab them with the link in my bio and use code SLEEP10.",
            "onScreenText": [
                "2 years of no sleep",
                "Loop earplugs, day 7",
                "code SLEEP10",
            ],
            "caption": "Honestly wish I'd found these sooner. Code SLEEP10 in bio #loopearplugs #lightsleeper #sleep",
            "durationSec": 24,
            "hookSec": 1.2,
        }] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("exepal/ad-creative-score").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "creatives": [
    {
      "id": "ugc-v1",
      "platform": "tiktok",
      "objective": "conversion",
      "product": "Loop earplugs",
      "audience": "light sleepers",
      "script": "Okay so I haven'\''t slept through the night in two years because my partner snores. I tried Loop earplugs for a week, not sponsored. Night one I woke up at 7am, no alarm. They cut about 25 decibels but I can still hear my kid. Only thing, the small tips fit me better than the medium. If you'\''re a light sleeper, grab them with the link in my bio and use code SLEEP10.",
      "onScreenText": [
        "2 years of no sleep",
        "Loop earplugs, day 7",
        "code SLEEP10"
      ],
      "caption": "Honestly wish I'\''d found these sooner. Code SLEEP10 in bio #loopearplugs #lightsleeper #sleep",
      "durationSec": 24,
      "hookSec": 1.2
    }
  ]
}' |
apify call exepal/ad-creative-score --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,exepal/ad-creative-score"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/cmTxMVYYw08TXsiya/builds/RqQBE4hhwZCUEEctI/openapi.json