Facebook ad library MCP: ask Claude or ChatGPT which ads are scaling, for free

Short answer: a Facebook ad library MCP — an ad spy MCP, if you prefer — is a connector that lets Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor look up ad data right inside the chat. There are two very different kinds. Meta's official connector (https://mcp.facebook.com/ads) manages and reports on your own ad account. An ad library MCP researches the public ads of any advertiser. FreeSpy's MCP is the second kind: 22 tools that read Meta, TikTok and YouTube ads with days live, copies and a 0–100 scale index, with 100 calls a day on the free account. No Meta token, nothing to self-host: you sign in to FreeSpy and paste one address.

Search "meta ads mcp claude" today and nearly every result is a setup guide for Meta's official connector. It's a good tool, but it answers a different question. If you want to know what a competitor is running, which offer has been live for weeks, or what changed overnight on the stores you follow, you need an MCP that reads the public ad library. This guide explains the difference, walks through setup in each client, and gives you prompts that actually work.

What MCP is, in plain English

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard for plugging an AI assistant into a data source or a tool. Instead of you pasting data into the chat, the AI calls the tool itself, gets the result back, and writes its answer on top of it.

In practice:

1. You add the MCP server URL to your AI client (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Claude Code).
2. You sign in to the service once, when it asks (OAuth).
3. You ask a normal question: "which skincare ads in the UK have been live for more than 30 days?"
4. The AI picks the tool and the filters, then answers with the data and the links.

The AI doesn't know anything about today's ads on its own. Without a connector it guesses, or repeats something it read months ago. With one, it answers with today's data.

Three different things called "Meta Ads MCP"

This is the part almost nobody spells out. When someone says "ads MCP" or "facebook ads library MCP", they can mean one of three things:

Checked in October 2026. Sources: Meta's announcement and the Ads MCP Server docs.

They don't compete. Plenty of media buyers run Meta's connector for their own campaigns and an ad library MCP for market research, in the same conversation.

Meta's official connector: what it does and doesn't do

Meta launched Meta Ads AI Connectors on April 29, 2026, as an open beta. The package has an MCP server hosted by Meta at https://mcp.facebook.com/ads and a command-line tool (CLI). In July 2026 Meta added the option to connect through your own developer app, plus rules that let a business portfolio admin limit what an AI agent can do on the account.

According to the official docs, the tools fall into seven groups: reporting, ad creation and management, catalogs, signals and datasets, help and troubleshooting, A/B and lift tests, and activity logs. Everything revolves around the ad account you authorized.

What it doesn't do, based on how the docs describe it: search other advertisers' ads in the Ad Library. Its "help" search looks up Business Help Center articles, not ads. If your question is "what is my competitor running?", this connector isn't the tool for it.

What about the open-source Ad Library MCPs?

There are several GitHub projects that connect an AI client to the Meta Ad Library. They usually take one of three routes:

• The official Ad Library API. You need identity verification and a Meta access token. The Ad Library API covers ads about social issues, elections or politics worldwide, plus ads of any kind delivered in the European Union and the UK. A commercial ad that only ran in the US, for example, won't come back through the API.
• Scraping the website. Free and token-less, but it runs a headless browser on your machine and can break whenever Meta changes the page.
• A paid data service. Less setup, but you pay per call or per month.

Either way you get raw ads. Counting how long each one has been live, grouping copies of the same creative, and telling a winner from a test is left to you, or to the AI, which burns context and gets the math wrong.

What FreeSpy's MCP does

FreeSpy reads the libraries every day, groups the copies of each creative and computes the read. The MCP hands that read to your AI. A regular account gets 22 tools:

The tool names are in Portuguese (FreeSpy started in Brazil), but you don't need to type them. Ask in English and the AI picks the right one; answers come back in your language. Every result includes the freespy.io link to the ad, advertiser or store, so you can check it with your own eyes.

How to connect in Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor

Claude (web and desktop)

First, create your account at freespy.io/login. It's free and doesn't ask for a card. That login is what Claude will ask for when you authorize.

1. In Claude, open Customize > Connectors (same menu in the desktop app).
2. Click Add custom connector.
3. Name: FreeSpy. URL: https://freespy.io/mcp.
4. Leave the advanced settings alone. Click Add, then Connect.
5. FreeSpy opens in your browser. Sign in and approve.
6. In a new chat, click +, then Connectors, and make sure FreeSpy is switched on.

Per Claude's documentation, custom connectors work on the Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. Free accounts get one custom connector. On Team and Enterprise, an Owner adds the connector for the organization and each member connects with their own account.

The shortest path is the Connect to MCP card on the home page. The button opens step-by-step instructions for each app, with the URL ready to copy and a button that takes you straight to the connectors screen.

ChatGPT

ChatGPT has renamed this menu several times (connectors, then apps, then plugins), so older tutorials point to screens that no longer exist. According to OpenAI's current docs, the path is:

1. Open chatgpt.com/plugins.
2. Click + and choose Add custom MCP server.
3. Name it FreeSpy and add a short description ("ads that are scaling").
4. Under Connection, paste https://freespy.io/mcp.
5. For authentication, choose OAuth. Read the risk warning and confirm.
6. Click Create as a plugin, review the tools it discovers and sign in to FreeSpy when prompted.

Two honest caveats. First, this Plugins flow no longer needs developer mode; you just accept the risk warning for each server. Second, per OpenAI's help center, custom MCP servers are available on the Business and Enterprise/Edu plans, on ChatGPT web only (not mobile). On Business, a workspace admin or owner adds it. If the option isn't there for you, Claude is the simpler route.

Cursor and Claude Code

Cursor. In FreeSpy's connect window, pick Cursor and click Install in Cursor. Cursor opens with the config filled in; just confirm. That link carries your personal key, so treat it like a password. If it leaks, generate a new key in the same window and the old one stops working immediately.

Claude Code. In your terminal:

claude mcp add --transport http freespy https://freespy.io/mcp

Then, inside Claude Code, run /mcp, pick FreeSpy and approve in the browser. If you'd rather skip OAuth, the connect window also shows the personal-key version.

15 prompts that work (and the tool each one calls)

Write the way you'd talk to a colleague. The AI picks the tool and the filters. In brackets, what it usually calls.

1. "What's scaling today?" (freespy_inicio) A good first prompt when you have no filter in mind.
2. "Which skincare ads in the UK have been live for more than 30 days? Sort by copies and only show the ones with 5 or more." (freespy_buscar_criativos with country GB, beauty niche, 30+ days, sorted by copies)
3. "Cash-on-delivery video ads in Italy and Germany that launched in the last 21 days and are already being duplicated." (freespy_buscar_criativos with cod, video format, launched within 21 days)
4. "Compare advertiser X and advertiser Y: index, profile, countries, stores and the three longest-running creatives for each." (freespy_anunciante twice)
5. "What changed in my Monitor since yesterday?" (freespy_monitor_novidades) It also takes "in the last 7 days" or "since 2026-10-01".
6. "X-ray ad [id]: describe the angle, the hook and the offer structure, without copying the text." (freespy_detalhe_criativo)
7. "Which stores are getting the most pet ads in the US?" (freespy_buscar_produtos)
8. "Dossier on [domain]: how many pages advertise for it, in which countries and for how long." (freespy_loja)
9. "List evergreen home-goods advertisers in France." (freespy_buscar_anunciantes with the evergreen profile)
10. "Which beauty sub-niches have the most ads right now?" (freespy_categorias)
11. "On TikTok, which fashion ads have been live for 14 days or more?" (freespy_buscar_criativos with source tiktok)
12. "Add this advertiser to my Monitor." (freespy_monitor_adicionar)
13. "Save the top three to a collection called 'Skincare UK' and put the first one on my Test Board under “I’ll test it”." (freespy_salvar and freespy_esteira_adicionar)
14. "Build a table of the 10 longest-running supplement creatives in Ireland: angle, format, days live, copies and link." (freespy_buscar_criativos, plus freespy_detalhe_criativo if needed)
15. "How much of my daily limit have I used?" (freespy_conta)

Tip: always ask for the link. The server already tells the AI to cite the freespy.io URL of everything it shows, but asking again doesn't hurt.

How to read the answer without fooling yourself

AI writes well, and that's a risk: a convincing paragraph on top of weak data is still weak data. Four things to keep in mind:

• Everything is an estimate from public data. Days live and copies are the most honest signals you can get from the outside, but they don't tell you margin, cost per purchase or daily spend. Read why days live works and what copies mean.
• "Active" has a date. FreeSpy marks whether an ad was live on the date it was checked. It may have been switched off since.
• TikTok and YouTube have smaller coverage than Meta. For those two, treat the answer as a sample, not the whole market. Our TikTok ad library guide explains why.
• Each search stops at 500 results. If the AI says it ran out, narrow the filters (country, niche, format, days live) instead of asking for page 30.

And the usual rule: what you take from an ad is the angle and the structure, not the asset. Copy the structure, not the creative. For health ads, the AI describes the angle and doesn't reproduce the claim.

Free vs Pro limits

The account is free forever. Pro is optional, for people who run a lot of searches a day or follow many advertisers. To check your usage, ask the AI ("how much of my limit have I used today?") or see Pricing.

Common mistakes

1. Connecting Meta's MCP and expecting to see competitors. It shows your own account. For the market, use an ad library MCP.
2. Asking for "the best ads" with no filter. The AI will choose for you. Give it a country, a niche and a minimum number of days live.
3. Trusting numbers the AI worked out in its head. Ask for a table with a link per row and spot-check two or three.
4. Reading one ad in isolation. One old ad is worth less than an advertiser who keeps duplicating a creative. Pull the advertiser dossier and check the profile: champion, tester or evergreen.
5. Ignoring the index. It sums up volume, longevity and renewal in a 0–100 percentile score. Learn what it measures before using it as a filter.
6. Pasting your personal key somewhere public. If you did, generate a new one in the connect window.

Where FreeSpy saves you time (and where it doesn't)

What it does: it takes the grunt work off your plate. Instead of opening the library, counting dates and hunting for duplicates, you ask and get a list already sorted by scale, with days live, copies and links. The same read you see in Explore and Top Scaled shows up inside your AI, and it can cross-reference your Monitor and Test Board. Our guides on finding scaled offers and finding winning products from the ad lay out the method; the MCP makes that method something you can talk to.

What it doesn't do: it doesn't touch your ad account, doesn't launch campaigns, doesn't track Shopify store sales, and doesn't guarantee an offer will sell for you. For your own campaigns, use Meta's connector. For the market, use FreeSpy.

If you want several connectors in the same AI (Meta's, a spreadsheet one, a store one), the connectors and skills catalog collects reviewed options with install steps, and the AI agents page shows the ones built for ad research. The freespy_agente_instalar tool brings those steps into the chat and asks for confirmation before running anything.

Frequently asked questions

Is FreeSpy's MCP free?

Yes. The account is free forever, doesn't ask for a card, and includes 100 MCP calls and up to 1,000 ads a day. Pro removes the call limit and raises it to 5,000 ads a day.

What is the MCP server URL?

For FreeSpy, https://freespy.io/mcp. In Claude and ChatGPT you sign in with your FreeSpy account (OAuth). In Cursor, the connect window installs it in one click with your personal key. Meta's official server URL is https://mcp.facebook.com/ads, and that one is for your own ad account.

Is FreeSpy the same as Meta's official Ads MCP?

No. Meta's connector manages and reports on your ad account. FreeSpy searches public ads from any advertiser, with days live, copies and an index. You can use both side by side.

Does it work on free ChatGPT?

Not today. Per OpenAI's help center, custom MCP servers are available on the Business and Enterprise/Edu plans, and OpenAI changes these rules often. If the option doesn't show up, Claude allows one custom connector even on its Free plan.

Can I see TikTok and YouTube ads through the MCP?

Yes, with the network filter. TikTok and YouTube coverage is smaller than Meta's, so treat those results as a sample.

Will the AI copy a competitor's ad for me?

It describes the angle, the hook and the structure. The right move is to rebuild the asset around your own offer. For health ads, it won't reproduce the claim.

Create your account at freespy.io/login, connect the MCP from the home page card, and ask your first question: "what's scaling in my niche today?" Two minutes in, you'll know whether it's worth your time.