# Competitor ad research with an AI agent

> Meta, Google, TikTok and LinkedIn each publish a public library of the ads advertisers run. These guides show how to see what rivals are running from your agent, and how to pick an MCP server for the job.

## What is an ad library MCP server?

An ad library MCP server lets your agent search public ad libraries, such as the Meta Ad Library and the Google Ads Transparency Center, by keyword, brand or advertiser, and read each ad's copy, format and landing page.

## Guides

- [The best ad library MCP servers for competitor research](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/blog/best-ad-library-mcp-servers.md): Five MCP servers that let your agent search the public ad libraries of Meta, Google, TikTok, LinkedIn and Microsoft, compared on coverage, setup and price.

## The data behind these guides

- [Ad libraries tools in the docs](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/tools/ads)
- [The paid-ads prompt](https://www.manifoldmcp.com/docs/tools#prompts)

## Questions

### Is there an official ad library MCP?

Not that we could find. Google's official Google Ads MCP and Meta's official ads MCP server both work on your own ad accounts, not on competitors' ads. Competitor research needs a third-party server that reads the public ad libraries.

### Can an agent see a competitor's spend or results?

Only what the public libraries show. They publish the ads themselves, with dates and placements, and only some publish impression or spend ranges for some ads. No library shows a competitor's exact spend or results.

### Do I need my own API keys?

Not with a hosted server such as Manifold. Open-source ad library servers often need a paid key for a scraping service, or a token for a platform you set up yourself.