How to research competitor ads with an AI agent

Why run time is the signal to read

How to research a competitor's Ads with your Assistant

1. 1

   Connect your Assistant to ShortsIntel

   Add the ShortsIntel MCP server once. The connect steps further down this page cover Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Codex and Cursor. No API key is needed.

2. 2

   Search the library for the competitor or the category

   Name the brand to see its Ads, or a product category to see every Advertiser in it. Ask for the US or another country on Meta, active Ads only, and sort by winner Score.

   Find active Meta Ads for protein powder in the US, sorted by winner Score. List the advertiser, start date, days running and number of variants for each.

3. 3

   Read the Ads that have lasted

   Ask the Assistant to keep the Ads that have run longest or gained the most variants, and to quote each one's title, body and call to action. Ask for Ad analysis when you want the video itself read: hook, visuals, on-screen text and offer.

   Take the five Ads with the highest winner Score, analyse them, and tell me the hook, the offer and the format of each.

4. 4

   Turn the findings into a brief

   Ask for patterns across the shortlist: which angles repeat, which offers keep running, which formats the Advertiser keeps adding. Then ask for new concepts that use the same angle in your own words.

   From these Ads, write three ad concepts for my brand that use the strongest angle. Keep each to a hook, a script outline and a call to action.

5. 5

   Track the Advertiser

   Set a Tracker on the competitor's Advertiser. Each day it checks for new and stopped Ads and writes a Change Report, so you hear about a new campaign without searching again.

   Track this Advertiser and tell me when they launch new Ads: (paste a Meta Page or Ad Library link)

What each ad library gives your Assistant

What your Assistant gets back

{
  "run": { "kind": "ads_search", "status": "completed", "charge_credits": 10 },
  "result": {
    "library": "meta",
    "items": [
      {
        "advertiser": { "name": "Dee Bailey" },
        "creative": { "title": "72% OFF Truvani Protein Starter Kit", "cta": "Shop now", "format": "DCO" },
        "media_type": "video",
        "placements": ["FACEBOOK", "INSTAGRAM", "AUDIENCE_NETWORK", "MESSENGER", "THREADS"],
        "first_shown": "2026-02-10T08:00:00.000Z",
        "days_running": 264,
        "is_active": true,
        "variant_count": 14,
        "winner_score": {
          "score": 82,
          "inputs": { "days_running": 264, "variants_added": 2, "advertiser_ads": 1, "snapshots": 4 },
          "confidence": "low",
          "reason": "few_advertiser_ads"
        }
      },
      {
        "advertiser": { "name": "ProDough Shop" },
        "creative": {
          "title": "Best Protein For Protein Yogurt",
          "body": "ProDough Protein lets you make the best high protein yogurt without the sugar or...",
          "cta": "Shop now"
        },
        "media_type": "video",
        "first_shown": "2026-05-18T07:00:00.000Z",
        "days_running": 167,
        "is_active": true,
        "variant_count": 3,
        "winner_score": { "score": 50, "confidence": "low" }
      },
      {
        "advertiser": { "name": "Unjury- Medical Quality Protein" },
        "creative": { "title": "High Quality Protein Powder", "cta": "Shop now" },
        "media_type": "video",
        "first_shown": "2024-12-12T08:00:00.000Z",
        "days_running": 689,
        "is_active": true,
        "variant_count": 1,
        "winner_score": { "score": 50, "confidence": "low" }
      },
      ...
    ],
    "next_cursor": "eyJjIjoi..."
  }
}
(10 Ads in all; media URLs and other fields trimmed)

{
  "run": { "kind": "ads_search", "status": "completed", "charge_credits": 3 },
  "result": {
    "library": "tiktok",
    "total": 5000,
    "items": [
      {
        "advertiser": { "id": null, "name": "Digital Skincare Inc." },
        "creative": { "title": "Personalized Skincare Plan", "body": null, "cta": null },
        "reach": { "audience": "0-1K", "spend": null, "impressions": null },
        "first_shown": 1793318400000,
        "last_shown": 1793404800000,
        "is_active": null
      },
      ...
    ],
    "next_cursor": "eyJjIjoi..."
  }
}
(12 Ads on this page; media URLs trimmed. first_shown and last_shown are epoch milliseconds: 30 and 31 October 2026)

What a competitor ad review costs

Connect your Assistant

Prompts to try

• •Show me every active Meta Ad from this brand in the US, longest running first: (paste the brand name or Page link)
• •Find Meta Ads for meal kits that have run for more than 60 days and summarise the offers they lead with.
• •Search the TikTok Ad Library for mobile game Ads and list the titles and Advertisers.
• •Analyse the three highest scoring Ads in this list and tell me what their first three seconds have in common.
• •Track this Advertiser and send me a Change Report when they add or stop Ads.

Related reading

• How long Meta Ads runDays running for 546 US Meta Ads from 11 Ad Library searches, stopped and running, by category and format.
• Ads in the docsEvery Meta filter, what each Ad carries, the winner Score and how an ad search is priced.
• PricingEvery price in Credits, with no subscription.

Ad research guides

• Find winning AdsHow to tell a winning Ad from a test using days running, variants added, placements, Snapshots and the winner Score.
• Meta Ad Library searchHow to search Meta's Ad Library by keyword, Advertiser and country, by hand and through an Assistant, with real sample output.
• TikTok Ad examplesSix real TikTok Ads from the TikTok Ad Library, each read for its hook, format and offer, with the reach and targeting the library publishes.
• TikTok Ad LibraryWhat TikTok's Ad Library holds, the countries it covers, what each Ad shows, and how to search it from your Assistant.

Questions

How can I see a competitor's ads?

Search the Meta Ad Library for the brand or its Facebook Page, and the TikTok Ad Library for Ads shown in Europe. Connected to ShortsIntel, Claude or ChatGPT can run both searches for you and return the Ads as a sorted list.

How do I know which competitor ads are working?

Neither library shows sales. The best public signal is run time: an Ad that has run for months, or that keeps getting new variants, is usually making money. ShortsIntel puts both into a winner Score on each Meta Ad, with a confidence level.

Can I see competitor ads on TikTok in the US?

No. The TikTok Ad Library covers Ads shown in the EU/EEA, the UK, Switzerland and Turkey only, so US-only TikTok campaigns do not appear in it.

Can I see how much a competitor spends on ads?

Not for commercial Ads. Meta publishes spend ranges for political and issue Ads only. Run time and variant count are the closest public signals for commercial Ads.

Does this touch my own ad account?

No. ShortsIntel reads the public ad libraries only. It never connects to your ad accounts or your social accounts.

How much does it cost?

A Meta search costs 1 credit per Ad delivered and a TikTok search 3 credits per page. New accounts get 1,000 credits free, valid for 90 days. A Run that fails costs nothing, and a partial one is charged only for what finished.

Related guides

• Find winning AdsHow to tell a winning Ad from a test using days running, variants added, placements, Snapshots and the winner Score.
• Meta Ad Library searchHow to search Meta's Ad Library by keyword, Advertiser and country, by hand and through an Assistant, with real sample output.
• TikTok Ad LibraryWhat TikTok's Ad Library holds, the countries it covers, what each Ad shows, and how to search it from your Assistant.
• TikTok Ad examplesSix real TikTok Ads from the TikTok Ad Library, each read for its hook, format and offer, with the reach and targeting the library publishes.
• UGC Ad researchHow to research UGC Videos and Ads by format and hook, with real examples, and turn the findings into briefs for UGC creators.
• Track competitors on socialTrack competitor Creators, Hashtags, Sounds, Keywords and Advertisers daily, and read a Change Report when something moves.
• Meta Ads MCPWhat an Assistant can do with the Meta Ad Library through the ShortsIntel MCP server: Ad and Advertiser search, Ad analysis, Snapshots and Advertiser Trackers.
• Social media MCPWhat the ShortsIntel MCP server lets an Assistant read on each Platform, and how to connect Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code or Cursor.
• Creative strategy with AICreative strategy and creative analytics with an AI agent that reads real Videos and Ads, plus every creative and hooks guide.
• Meta Ad Library APIWhat Meta's official Ad Library API returns, what it leaves out for commercial Ad research, and another way to read those Ads.
• Social listening for marketersListen to Keywords, Hashtags and comments on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook with Trackers, a Focus and daily Change Reports.
• TikTok API vs scrapingWhat TikTok's official APIs and the Research API return, who can use them, and how scraping and an MCP server compare for marketers.

Try it in your Assistant