Edits compare 3 reels: read the clips with Sume video inspect

Edits lets you compare up to 3 of your reels side by side on views, watch time, follows and interactions, but those are numbers about audience behaviour, not about the clip. To line up what each clip contains, run Sume POST /v1/video-inspect on each one: it returns probe facts, stills, and an optional transcript.

Edits facts are from the Instagram for Creators post, read 2026-10-01; Sume facts are from the Video inspect docs. Sume does not read your Instagram metrics, and inspect does not explain why a reel performed as it did.

What does Edits compare?

The post says you open the Insights tab, tap Compare, and select up to 3 reels to see views, watch time, follows and interactions in one view. It also describes an Audience tab and PDF export of insights.

What does video inspect return?

For one workspace-hosted clip it returns probe facts, frames as durable image artifacts (8 mid-bin stills by default), and a transcript when you pass transcribe: true. Probe and stills are unbilled; the transcript is the billed half.

How do I line three reels up?

Import each reel to media.sume.com, then inspect each with its own Idempotency-Key. Put the probe durations, the first still and the opening transcript line in one sheet beside the Edits metrics. Use the default precise seek when timestamps matter; fast can show a frame earlier than requested, by up to one GOP, and is meant for skimming. For clips that may have no audio, check probe.has_audio first with frames: false.

What can I not conclude?

Inspect returns facts and pictures, not typed scenes or an explanation of retention. Treat any pattern you see between clip content and Edits numbers as a hypothesis to test with the next reel.