Ads Competitor
Spy on competitor paid ads across major ad networks and turn public library data into gap and opportunity briefs before you scale spend.
Overview
ads-competitor is an agent skill most often used in Idea (also Validate and Grow) that researches rival paid ads across major platforms and produces a competitive intelligence report with gaps and opportunities.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/agricidaniel/claude-ads --skill ads-competitorWhat is this skill?
- 7-step process from competitor identification through competitive intelligence report
- Cross-platform coverage: Google, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, Microsoft, and Apple Ads
- Free intelligence sources table: transparency centers and creative libraries with spend-range signals where available
- Analyzes copy themes, creative strategy, keyword targeting, and estimated spend patterns
- Outputs competitive gaps and opportunities grounded in ads/references/benchmarks.md baselines
- 7-step competitor intelligence process
- 6 major ad platforms in scope
- ads/references/benchmarks.md industry baselines
Adoption & trust: 874 installs on skills.sh; 5.8k GitHub stars; 2/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You know competitors exist in your category but cannot see what they run, where they spend, or which angles they repeat across Google, Meta, and other networks.
Who is it for?
Indie founders and small growth teams validating positioning or planning paid acquisition who want library-based competitor recon before increasing ad budget.
Skip if: Teams that need real-time bid-level spy tools, non-public spend data, or legal ad fraud forensics beyond what transparency libraries expose.
When should I use this skill?
User mentions competitor ads, ad spy, competitive analysis, competitor PPC, ad intelligence, Meta Ad Library, Google Ads Transparency, competitor creative, or competitor research.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You get a structured competitor ad report with copy and creative themes, platform presence, spend estimates where libraries allow, and prioritized gaps to test in your own campaigns.
- Competitive intelligence report
- Platform-by-platform ad presence summary
- Gap and opportunity recommendations
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Competitor ad intelligence is canonically an Idea-phase competitors shelf skill because it answers who is buying what keywords and what creative angles rivals run before you commit budget. The competitors subphase is where solo builders compare positioning and paid presence; this skill aggregates Meta Ad Library, Google Ads Transparency Center, and similar sources into that comparison.
Where it fits
Map which rivals dominate RSA and Meta placements in your niche before you pick a wedge.
Compare competitor landing and offer messaging implied by their active ad copy to tighten your MVP scope.
Refresh quarterly competitor creative themes to spot fatigue gaps you can exploit with new angles.
How it compares
Research workflow packaged as a skill for public ad libraries—not a live MCP connector to your ad accounts or a third-party spy subscription.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is ads-competitor for?
Solo builders and small teams shipping SaaS, ecommerce, or content products who need competitor paid-media intelligence from free transparency and library sources before scaling spend.
When should I use ads-competitor?
During Idea competitors research, when scoping Validate positioning against rival offers, and in Grow when refreshing channel strategy—especially after triggers like competitor ads, Meta Ad Library, or Google Ads Transparency.
Is ads-competitor safe to install?
Treat it like any third-party agent skill: review the Security Audits panel on this Prism page and confirm what network or filesystem access your agent runtime grants before running competitor research.
Workflow Chain
Then invoke: ads creative
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Ads Competitor
<!-- Updated: 2026-04-13 | v1.5 --> # Competitor Ad Intelligence ## Process 1. Identify target competitors (from user input or industry analysis) 2. Read `ads/references/benchmarks.md` for industry CPC/CTR/CVR baselines 3. Research competitor ad presence across platforms 4. Analyze ad copy, creative, and messaging themes 5. Estimate competitor spend and keyword strategy 6. Identify gaps and opportunities 7. Generate competitive intelligence report ## Data Sources ### Free Intelligence Sources | Source | Platform | What You Can Find | |--------|----------|------------------| | Google Ads Transparency Center | Google | Active ads, formats, geo targeting | | Meta Ad Library | Meta/Instagram | All active ads, creative, copy, spend range | | LinkedIn Ad Library | LinkedIn | Active ads from company pages | | TikTok Creative Center | TikTok | Top ads, trending creative, hashtags | | Microsoft Ads | Microsoft | Limited: use auction insights | | Apple Ads (App Store) | Apple | Search tab ads, Today tab ads, product page creatives | ### Google Ads Auction Insights Available from the user's own Google Ads account: - Impression share vs competitors - Overlap rate (how often you compete) - Outranking share (who wins more often) - Top of page rate and absolute top of page rate - Available for Search and Shopping campaigns ### Platform-Specific Research #### Google - Ads Transparency Center: search by advertiser name or domain - Search for competitor brand terms to see their ads live - Auction Insights for impression share comparison #### Meta - Ad Library: filter by advertiser, country, platform (FB/IG), date range - Shows creative (image/video), ad copy, active dates - Shows platform placement (Facebook, Instagram, Audience Network) #### LinkedIn - Ad Library: search by company name - Shows Sponsored Content, Message Ads - Limited data compared to Meta Ad Library #### TikTok - Creative Center 2.0: top-performing ads by industry, country, objective with enhanced filtering - Hashtag analytics: trending sounds and hashtags - TikTok Shop: review competitor storefronts, catalogs, reviews, and live shopping - No per-advertiser library; use Creative Center for industry trends #### Apple Ads - App Store search: search competitor brand terms to see their Search tab ads - Today tab ads: check competitor presence on App Store homepage - Custom Product Pages: analyze competitor CPP variants via App Store listings ## 2025-2026 Platform Updates ### Meta - **Andromeda creative clustering** (launched October 2025): ads with >60% similarity are suppressed. Competitor creative analysis must assess genuine conceptual diversity, not just volume - **Advantage+ Sales** (renamed from ASC): unified shopping campaign type. Check if competitors are running Advantage+ Sales vs manual campaigns ### Google - **Demand Gen replaced VAC** (April 2026): Video Action Campaigns fully deprecated. Analyze competitor Demand Gen adoption (multi-format video+image) - **AI Max for Search**: AI-powered campaign type with 14% conversion lift. Check competitor adoption via Ads Transparency Center - **Expanded Ads Transparency Center**: richer data on competitor ad history, formats, and targeting regions ### TikTok - **Creative Center 2.0**: enhanced industry benchmarking, top ads filtering by objective and format - **Symphony AI variations** (202