How I Use AI Web Search to Find Better Instagram and TikTok Hashtags

My name is Jeffrey Mdala, an AI Engineer & Founder based in Lusaka, Zambia. I run Zambian Online Education Company (ZOEC), where I build products like eskulu, an AI-powered learning platform for the Zambian ECZ curriculum, and Zedpastpapers, which now serves more than 200,000 users every month. Because I work at the intersection of AI, education, software, and digital growth, I am always looking for practical ways to use AI tools to save time and improve results.

One of the simplest but most overlooked use cases is hashtag research for Instagram and TikTok. Many people still spend too much time manually searching for hashtags, copying random tag lists, or guessing what might work. My approach is much simpler: use AI with web search turned on.

If you are a creator, entrepreneur, student brand, school, startup, or small business in Zambia or across Africa, this can help you create more relevant hashtags faster and with far less effort.

Why I Recommend Using AI for Hashtag Research

Hashtags are still useful for content discovery, especially when you are trying to connect your post to a topic, trend, niche, or audience. But the problem is that hashtag research can become repetitive very quickly. You can waste a lot of time trying to find the “best” hashtags without knowing whether they actually match your content.

That is where AI becomes useful.

Instead of manually searching one hashtag at a time, I use tools like:

• ChatGPT
• Grok
• Perplexity
• Gemini

The specific tool does not matter as much as how you use it. The key step is making sure web search is enabled. Once web search is on, the AI can look across the internet for current and relevant hashtag ideas instead of relying only on old internal knowledge.

The Simple Method I Use

My process is very straightforward.

First, I open the AI tool of my choice and make sure web search is turned on. This matters because social media trends move quickly. A hashtag strategy that worked months ago may not be as useful today.

Then I give the AI a direct instruction such as:

Search the web for the best hashtags for this Instagram or TikTok post.

After that, I provide the actual content context. That can be:

• The script or caption
• The image
• A short description of the post
• The niche and target audience

Once the AI has that information, it can generate a list of hashtags that are more aligned with the post itself.

This is much better than using generic hashtags that have nothing to do with your content.

Why Web Search Matters More Than People Think

The most important detail in this method is not just “use AI.” It is use AI with access to current web information.

Without web search, an AI tool may still give you decent suggestions, but they may be too broad, outdated, or disconnected from what people are actively using online. With web search enabled, the model can pull in fresher context and identify hashtags that are more relevant to the topic, industry, or trend you are targeting.

For anyone building a digital brand in Africa, this is especially important. Our markets are growing fast, but many global content strategies are still written from outside our context. If you are posting content around education, entrepreneurship, tech, student life, or business in Zambia, your hashtag strategy should reflect that reality.

I have learned this firsthand while building digital products under ZOEC. Whether I am sharing updates about eskulu, educational access, AI in learning, or startup lessons from Zambia, relevance always beats random volume.

What to Give the AI for Better Results

If you want better hashtags, give the AI better inputs.

Do not just say, “give me hashtags.” Instead, provide enough context so the system understands what the post is about. For example, include:

• The platform — Instagram or TikTok
• The content type — educational, promotional, storytelling, tutorial, announcement
• The topic — AI, education, business, student tips, social media growth
• The audience — students, parents, entrepreneurs, creators, teachers
• The location — Zambia, Southern Africa, Africa, or global
• The actual script, caption, or image

The more precise you are, the more useful the output becomes.

For example, if I were posting about AI in education for Zambian students, I would not want a generic list built for a completely different audience. I would want hashtags that connect to education, learning, Zambia, Africa, and the specific message in the content.

A Practical Prompt You Can Use

Here is a simple structure you can adapt:

Search the web for the best Instagram or TikTok hashtags for this post. The audience is [your audience]. The topic is [your topic]. The location focus is [your location]. Here is the script/caption/image description: [insert content]. Give me a balanced list of relevant hashtags.

This kind of prompt gives the AI enough direction to produce something useful.

You can also ask it to organize the hashtags into categories such as:

• Broad hashtags
• Niche hashtags
• Location-based hashtags
• Industry hashtags
• Low-competition hashtags

That makes it easier to choose a mix instead of relying on one type only.

Where This Fits Into My Work in Zambia

I have spent years building digital systems that solve real problems in Zambia. I started coding in Grade 12, built Zedpastpapers, and later built eskulu during COVID-19 to support learners with notes, past papers, marking schemes, quizzes, and AI-powered learning support. Today, eskulu has reached more than 500,000 students across Zambia.

That journey taught me something important: technology is most powerful when it removes friction.

This hashtag workflow may seem small compared to building AI systems, but the principle is the same. If a task is repetitive, time-consuming, and can be improved with the right AI workflow, then it should be streamlined.

As someone who has been recognized through milestones such as the X Pitchathon win for Business With a Purpose and the Top 5 at the ZICTA Innovation Programme for eskulu, I care deeply about practical innovation. I am not interested in AI for hype. I am interested in AI that helps people work smarter, build faster, and grow with the tools available today.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even with AI, there are a few mistakes people should avoid:

• Using hashtags that do not match the post — relevance matters more than popularity alone
• Ignoring local context — if your audience is in Zambia or Africa, say so
• Providing too little information — vague prompts lead to vague outputs
• Copying every suggested hashtag blindly — review and refine before posting
• Depending only on memory-based AI responses — turn on web search where possible

AI should support your judgment, not replace it completely.

My Final Take

If you are still spending too much time looking for the best hashtags for your Instagram or TikTok posts, my advice is simple: stop doing it manually. Use AI, make sure web search is turned on, and provide the script, image, or post description so the tool can generate more relevant hashtag options.

This is one of those small workflow improvements that can save time consistently, especially if you post often for a business, personal brand, school, or startup.

As an AI engineer and founder building from Zambia, I believe African creators and entrepreneurs should be using these tools more intentionally. We do not need to be late adopters. We can use AI now, in practical ways, to improve how we market, teach, build, and communicate.

If you are interested in AI consulting, web development, or building smart digital products for education or business, feel free to reach out to me at jeffmdala@gmail.com. You can also explore the work I am doing through eskulu and ZOEC as I continue building AI-powered systems for Zambia and Africa.