The best Meta Ad Library tool for most people who write code is the seogeoaeo.ai Meta Ad Finder, because the same check runs in a browser tab, from a script over REST, or from an AI coding agent over MCP. Meta's own library is the free baseline, and its Ad Library API covers deeper analysis for those who qualify. Below are the three options and when each one fits.
If you already spend your day in Claude Code, Codex or another agent, the agent route matters most: you can ask the agent what a competitor is advertising and get a structured answer back without leaving the terminal.
1. seogeoaeo.ai Meta Ad Finder
The Meta Ad Finder reads Meta's public Ad Library and returns a report instead of a page to scroll. It takes three inputs:
query: a Facebook page name or a keywordmode:pageorkeywordmarket:allor a country code such asus,gborde
The report lists active ads with the longest-running first. Each one carries its text, headline, call-to-action button, landing page, start date, days running, format and placements, plus a link to the ad in Meta's library. A keyword run also names the pages that advertise on the term.
From a script it is one POST with a workspace API key, as seogeoaeo.ai documents it:
curl -X POST https://seogeoaeo.ai/api/v1/tools/meta-ad-finder/runs \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SEOGEOAEO_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"input":{"query":"standing desk","mode":"keyword","market":"us"}}'
Over MCP the tool name is the same slug, meta-ad-finder, so an agent can pick it up from the tool list. Each run costs 5 credits as of November 2026, shown before it starts, and a run that finds no ads is refunded.
Two habits get better results. For a page search, use the name exactly as Facebook shows it, such as Semrush rather than semrush.com. If nothing comes back, the page may not be advertising in that country right now, so try all before you change anything else.
2. Meta's Ad Library website
The library at facebook.com/ads/library is free, and it is the public source the Meta Ad Finder reads. As of November 2026, Meta says you can search all active ads across its apps. Ads about social issues, elections or politics get a spend range, reach and the funder, and stay for seven years. Ads delivered in the EU stay for a year after their last impression.
It is the right tool when you need the creative itself, since it shows the images and video that the Meta Ad Finder only links to. It is a slow tool when you need to compare several brands, because the sorting and note-taking are manual.
3. Meta's Ad Library API
Meta also runs an Ad Library API, which its Transparency Center describes as a way to analyze ads in more depth, including active branded content for authorized users. It suits teams that want to write and maintain their own analysis code. Read the access rules on Meta's API page before you plan a project around it, and check which ads it returns for the countries you care about.
Quick comparison
| Meta Ad Finder | Ad Library website | Ad Library API | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | 5 credits per run | Free | See Meta's API page |
| Works from an AI agent | Yes, MCP or REST | Not directly | Through code you write |
| Order of results | Longest-running first | Meta's own order | Up to your code |
| Images and video | Linked, not shown | Shown | See Meta's API page |
What none of them tell you
For ordinary product ads, Meta publishes no spend and no reach, so no tool can show them. How long an ad has run is the signal that remains, since advertisers stop paying for ads that do not work. The Meta Ad Finder also lists only active ads and does not cover Google or LinkedIn, which seogeoaeo.ai handles with separate ad tools.