What makes an Instagram caption work?

A first line that earns the second. Instagram truncates at roughly 125 characters, so the hook has to survive the “more” cut. TextAI front-loads the interesting part and puts context after it — the opposite of how most people instinctively write captions.

Can it match how I actually write?

Yes, but you have to say so. “Dry, no exclamation marks”, “chaotic, lowercase”, “warm but not cheesy”. The generator takes tone direction literally. If the first result sounds like a brand account, tell it that and regenerate. Most people find their setting inside three tries.

What about hashtags and bios?

Those are separate tools in the app. Instagram Hashtags suggests tags scoped to the specific post rather than the same thirty generic ones. Instagram Bio writes the 150-character version. There is also Instagram Story Ideas, and Review Instagram Profile if you want a critique of the grid.

Do captions affect reach?

Indirectly. Captions do not rank the way search results do, but they drive saves, comments and dwell time, and those feed the recommendation system. A caption that asks a real question outperforms one that asks a fake one.