What is an ad intelligence tool?

Software that collects ads, usually competitors' ads from public ad libraries, and helps you search, track and learn from them. Many now add creative analytics on your own account and AI ad production.

Can any of these tools show a competitor's ad spend?

Not as an observed figure. Commercial ads carry no spend on any platform's library. Meta publishes reach only for ads delivered in the EU, the UK and Brazil. Any spend number beyond that is a model.

Which ad intelligence tools have an MCP server?

As of November 2026, AdLemur, Marxx, Foreplay, Atria, Motion, GetHookd, TrendTrack, Panoramata and AdLibrary all state one on their sites. Plans and tool counts differ, so check which plan includes it and whether it can write.

Is there an open-source ad intelligence tool?

AdLemur is open source under the MIT license and can be self-hosted on Cloudflare or Docker with your own provider keys, or used as a managed service.

Tools

Ad intelligence tools compared: ten products, four different jobs

AdLemur, Marxx, Foreplay, Atria, Motion and five more, compared on what they read, what they make, and whether an AI agent can use them.

Coverage checked 2026-11-06. Platform libraries change their scope without notice, so verify anything load-bearing against the source.

Every ad intelligence product reads the same public ad libraries underneath. What separates them is the job built on top: researching competitors' ads, analysing your own account, producing new creative, or handing all of it to an AI agent. Most tools do two or three of these. Pick by the job you need done, not by the size of the ad count on the homepage.

The same public libraries feed every tool. The difference is which jobs each one builds on top.

What to compare before you pick one

Sources and geography. Meta and Google publish ads shown worldwide. TikTok, Microsoft, Snapchat, Pinterest and X publish only ads delivered in the EU and UK. A tool that mixes the two into one count is comparing different maps. The coverage guide has each library's scope.
Competitors or your own account. Competitor research reads public libraries. Creative analytics reads your connected ad accounts, which is where spend and results live. Some tools only do one.
Making ads. Several tools now generate scripts, images, avatars or whole ads from what they find. Check whether they also publish to the ad platform or stop at a file.
Agent access. Most of the tools below now ship an MCP server, so Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor can query them directly. Check which plan includes it and whether it can write, not just read.
Spend figures. Commercial ads carry no spend on any platform. A competitor spend number is a model, and a good tool labels it as one.

AdLemur: open source, built for agents

This is our product, so read this entry with that in mind. AdLemur collects competitor ads from Meta, Google and YouTube, TikTok, Microsoft, Snapchat, Pinterest and X, and keeps each library's geography and completeness attached to every number. It is open source under the MIT license, so you can self-host it, or use the managed version.

An MCP server with read, write and paid tools, so an agent can watch competitors, compare advertisers and draft briefs.
Lemur, the built-in assistant, works on the same project data inside the app.
Reads your own Meta, Google and LinkedIn results, and launches ads there from a preview you approve, created paused.
Marks an ad stopped only from a complete collection run, never from a partial one.

Marxx: AI ad creative and competitor intelligence

Marxx covers the loop from research to a live ad for paid social teams and agencies. It reads your own ads and your competitors', turns what it finds into briefs, then produces and publishes the ads.

Tracks competitors in Meta's Ad Library and Google's Ads Transparency Center, and breaks each ad into sixteen attributes.
Audits your own account, detects creative fatigue, and sends daily alerts by email or Slack.
A production canvas for scripts, voice clones, AI avatars, lip sync and UGC-style video, publishing campaigns straight to Meta.
A hosted MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT, plus a browser extension, a Slack bot and per-client agency workspaces.

Foreplay: saving and tracking ads

Foreplay saves, searches and tracks ads, with creative analytics, for social ad teams and agencies. Its Chrome extension saves ads from the Meta, TikTok and LinkedIn libraries, Spyder tracks competitors continuously, and Lens analyses your connected Meta and TikTok accounts. It offers an MCP server and an API on its higher plans.

Atria: Meta ads from research to launch

Atria is built around Meta. You follow brands with AI-tagged hooks and angles, generate images, scripts and copy, and batch-upload the results to Meta. It has an AI strategist, and both an MCP server and a REST API with monthly call limits.

Motion: creative analytics on your own ads

Motion is creative analytics for performance teams. It reports on your Meta, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn ads, auto-tags creatives by hook, angle and format, and has an AI agent that also looks at rivals' latest ads. It integrates with Northbeam and GA4 and includes MCP access. Its plans start at $999 a month, checked November 2026.

GetHookd: Meta ad search for ecommerce

GetHookd searches active Meta ads, updated daily, with Brand Spy for competitor launches and shop traffic data. Clone Ads generates new static ads from one that is working. It covers Meta only, and connects to AI agents on its team plans.

TrendTrack: ecommerce competitor intelligence

TrendTrack combines ad libraries for Meta, Google Search and Shopping, and TikTok with shop analytics, best sellers, an email library and traffic. It shows spend and reach only where Meta publishes them, for EU and UK delivery. Plans include API and MCP access.

Minea: winning products for dropshipping

Minea is product research first: a feed of winning products, shop tracking, and a Meta ads listing with AI analysis and transcripts. It is aimed at dropshippers rather than brand or B2B teams, and neither its site nor its pricing page mentions an API or MCP server.

Panoramata: every marketing channel, not just ads

Panoramata tracks competitors' ads on Meta, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google Display alongside their emails, flows, SMS and landing page changes, with AI summaries. MCP is included on all plans, and an API on Enterprise. It suits CRM and lifecycle teams as much as ad teams.

AdLibrary: cross-platform search and an API

AdLibrary is a search engine over ads from several platforms, with AI breakdowns of hook, angle and audience, a swipe file, and full API and MCP access on its Business plan. Its site lists more platforms than it says are currently live, so check the one you need.

What is an ad intelligence tool?: Software that collects ads, usually competitors' ads from public ad libraries, and helps you search, track and learn from them. Many now add creative analytics on your own account and AI ad production.
Can any of these tools show a competitor's ad spend?: Not as an observed figure. Commercial ads carry no spend on any platform's library. Meta publishes reach only for ads delivered in the EU, the UK and Brazil. Any spend number beyond that is a model.
Which ad intelligence tools have an MCP server?: As of November 2026, AdLemur, Marxx, Foreplay, Atria, Motion, GetHookd, TrendTrack, Panoramata and AdLibrary all state one on their sites. Plans and tool counts differ, so check which plan includes it and whether it can write.
Is there an open-source ad intelligence tool?: AdLemur is open source under the MIT license and can be self-hosted on Cloudflare or Docker with your own provider keys, or used as a managed service.

AdLemur is open source under the MIT license. Get started free or read how agents read the same evidence over MCP.