Adspy
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playbook

How to scan a category with Adspy

This Adspy playbook is for founders and marketers entering or mapping a market. It shows who advertises on a topic right now, the formats they use and the claims they repeat. Everything it reads is included on every plan, within fair use.

Cost
IncludedEverything it reads is included on every plan, within fair use
Where
Claude, Claude Code, Codex or any remote MCP clientThrough Adspy's MCP server
Sources
Meta and Google adsPublic ad libraries, YouTube ads included
Output
Brands by number of live adsWith the claims and formats that recur
Connect your AISee pricing

Updated

The prompt · category scan

Which brands are running ads about protein powder right now? Group them by brand and list the claims and formats that come up most.

Change the words in the fields and the prompt follows; the steps stay the same. Send it as it is, or ask in your own words.

What does Adspy do, step by step?

Your AI runs 2 steps with Adspy's tools. Each call is listed with its arguments and the most it can cost on the published tariff; free and included calls use no credits.

  1. Search the topic

    Your AI searches live ads whose copy, transcript or visuals mention the topic, as one exact phrase.

    • search_creatives{ query: "protein powder", status: "active", limit: 100 }Included

  2. Map the brands

    It groups the ads by brand and opens the brands that come up most.

    • search_brands{ query: "brand name" }Free

This exampleIncludedeverything it reads is included on every plan, within fair use

What comes back?

Adspy's answer arrives in the chat, with the ads, posts and figures it rests on, so you can open each one.

  • The brands advertising on the topic, with their number of live ads
  • The claims and formats that come up most
  • Ads to open for each brand

“protein”18 live ads from 4 brands

  • Huel146 video · 8 imageHuel image ad on MetaHuel image ad on MetaHuel image ad on Meta
  • Bloom Nutrition21 video · 1 imageBloom Nutrition image ad on MetaBloom Nutrition video ad on Meta
  • AG111 video · 0 imageAG1 video ad on Meta
  • Grüns11 video · 0 imageGrüns video ad on Meta

“protein powder”: 0 live ads in this snapshot

Live ads whose copy, transcript or visual description contains "protein", by brand, in a snapshot of the shared library taken on 23 September 2026 (327 ads from 37 brands). The prompt's own phrase, "protein powder", matches none of them in this small snapshot: try a few wordings.

Good to know before you run it

  • The scan covers the brands in Adspy's library; a brand it does not have yet can be added.
  • A topic is matched as one exact phrase of one to three words: try a few wordings.
  • Counts are ads in the library, not the market's size or spend.

Questions about this playbook

Is it included in my plan?

Yes. Searching ads is included on every plan, within fair use.

Can I limit it to one language or format?

You can limit it to one language, platform or format; ask in the prompt.

Have a brand in mind?

Add Adspy to your assistant with this URL, sign in, and ask about its ads. Connecting takes a few minutes, and no ad account.

Connect your AI
https://www.adspy.sh/mcp