How to Use Facebook Ads Library to Spy on Competitors' Ads in 2025

There’s no shortage of brands running ads on Facebook. In fact, 91% of marketers use the platform, and for 40% of them, it’s the most profitable one they have. 

That tells you two things. One, your competitors are here. Two, they’re making money from it.

What if you could see exactly what they’re running, when they launched it, and what creatives they’re betting on? That’s exactly what the Facebook Ads Library lets you do.

It’s Meta’s free and official tool that lets you peek into your competitors’ strategy. You can use it to study real ads, spot trends, and collect ideas that can define your next high-performing campaign.

Read on to find out how you can make the most use of the Facebook Ads Library to build winning ads faster, without guessing what works.

What is the Facebook Ads Library

The Facebook Ads Library is Meta’s way of giving users a bit more transparency. It shows every active ad running across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and the rest of Meta’s platforms.

For advertisers, this is a goldmine. You get a bird’s eye view of what advertisements are currently live in your industry. You can also spot trends, study your competitors’ creative strategies, and even find content gaps to explore in your ad messaging.

Access the ads library here: facebook.com/ads/library

Each ad listing gives you helpful details like:

• Library ID — the unique identifier for that specific ad
• Active status — whether the ad is currently running
• Start date — when the ad first went live
• Platforms — where the ad is being shown (Facebook, Instagram, etc.)
• Multiple versions — if the brand is testing different creatives
• Ad content — image or video, the full copy, and the CTA

Clicking into an ad opens up more details like the full caption and headline. If the ad targets users in the EU, you’ll even see additional data like age, gender, and location targeting.

This level of competitive intelligence would typically cost thousands through paid tools, but Meta offers it completely free.

How to use Facebook Ads Library

Most people use the library for competitor research, but you can also use it for ad inspiration, market trends, or keyword ideas.

If you're looking to spy on competitors (and you should be), here's how to do it effectively:

1. Choose the region and category

Start by selecting the region you want to target, not where you’re based. For example, if you’re in the US but trying to break into the UK market, choose the UK. This will ensure you see what local competitors are running.

Next, set your category. 

Unless you fall under Meta’s special categories like politics, housing, employment, or finance, it’s best to leave it as ‘All.’ 

You can then narrow your search using keywords, product names, or specific brand names. 

2. Filtering your Facebook Ads Library search

Once you’ve searched by keyword, you can refine your results using filters. 

Meta lets you filter only these #6 attributes:

• Language
• Advertiser
• Platform (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, etc.)
• Media type (video, image, or no media)
• Active status
• Impressions by date range

3. Analyze the ads

Now that you’ve filtered by location, category, and searched the product or keyword, it’s time to make sense of what you’re seeing.

Primarily, you want to focus on the creatives used, how long the ads have been running, and targeting information if available.

Look at how many ads are showing up. If it’s just a few, it might mean your keyword is too specific. If there are lots, that’s a good sign you’re in a competitive (and profitable) space.

Scan top-level information

Look at how recently the ads were launched. Newer ads show what’s currently trending. Older ads that have been running for weeks or months could mean they’re performing well. Most advertisers won’t keep spending money on ads that aren’t working.

Check what types of creatives are being used

Are the ads mostly videos, carousels, or single images? This tells you what formats brands in this space are betting on. For example, if most ads are short videos, that’s a strong clue that video is converting well for this product.

Pay attention to the quality of the visuals, too. Are they polished and studio-shot, or raw and user-generated? Do they show the product in use, or just list features? All these questions will help you understand what content resonates with your target market.

Read the copy like a buyer, not a marketer

Look at the language in the headlines and primary text. What benefits are being highlighted? 

Don’t forget to make a note of any patterns you see. If multiple ads are repeating the same phrases, that’s probably a pain point worth noting.

Also, pay attention to how long the copy is. Is it short and punchy, or longer and story-based? This tells you a lot about how much education the buyer needs before they take action.

Check the call to action

See what most ads are asking people to do. Are CTAs saying ‘Shop now,’ ‘Learn more,’ or ‘Buy Now’? This gives you a sense of how aggressive or soft the pitch is in this space.

If most ads lead to a product page directly, it tells you that the buying process might be simple and fast. If they lead to a longer landing page or quiz, it might mean customers need more convincing before buying.

Example

At a glance, here are the search results for ads with the keyword ‘vegetable chopper’. 

Read on to see what we can learn from it.

• Video is the dominant format. Every ad in the first two rows is a short video. That tells us that video converts, or at least performs best for this product.
• The messaging is focused on saving time and avoiding hassle. Every ad immediately leads with a pain point, then offers the product as a fast, mess-free solution. This tells us the audience cares about efficiency, versatility, and cleanliness. If you were selling a similar product, you’d want to highlight those same angles.

This is just a tiny example of what you can get from the Facebook Ads Library. 

If you want more details, click on each ad and study its targeting and creative elements in detail. Details, such as reach, are only visible if the brand is running ads in the EU region. 

The alternative is to work with 3rd party Facebook ads spy tools since they usually include performance and engagement details. 

4. Don’t forget to save your search

If you plan to revisit this product or keyword later, hit the ‘Save Search’ button at the top right and name your search so it’s easy to find later. 

You can also save specific advertisers and apply your preferred filters to speed things up next time you’re searching on Facebook Ads Library.

5. Make it work for you

It’s time to create your own high-converting ad. 

However, when experimenting, don’t go too far out of the box that you lose your audience. At the same time, don’t just copy and paste. Balance originality with using what you’ve seen work. 

Here’s a handy tip from Hubspot Marketing that we agree with.

Facebook Ad Library use cases

Wondering how to actually use the Facebook Ads Library for your business? These are our top #4 ways to use the Meta ads spy tool.

1. Competitor intelligence

Stop guessing what your competitors are up to. You can filter the library by their business name and see exactly what they're running right now. Watch how long their ads run. Anything that stays active for weeks is likely converting well.

2. Fill in the gaps

Sometimes the most valuable insight isn't what everyone's doing but what they're missing. Check to see which gaps your competitors are not addressing. This applies mostly to the ad creatives, such as the copy, videos, or images. 

Doing so will give you untapped messaging opportunities that often lead to lower CPCs and higher conversion rates simply because you're addressing a need your competition is ignoring.

3. Ad inspiration

When you’re low on ideas, use the Facebook Ads Library to see the top-performing ads in your industry. It’s an easy way to find fresh concepts that work and adapt them for your brand..

4. Keyword research

What words and phrases are your competitors using in ads? This is a good place to start figuring out the keywords you should pay special attention to when creating ads.

Start with a broad search around your industry or product, then narrow down to the most common terms. Always double-check your list with social and SEO tools to make sure you’re targeting the right keywords.

FAQs

Final thoughts

The Facebook Ads Library is no doubt a powerful source for ad inspiration, but it’s only the first step to creating winning ads.

Once you've done the hard part of uncovering winning patterns and messages, don't waste that intelligence by starting your creative process from scratch. 

Cropink can help you create high-converting Meta ads faster and easier with ready-to-use templates and smart catalog tools designed to bring your ideas to life.

Turn your competitive intelligence into your competitive advantage. Book your free demo today and see how much faster you can go from research to results with Cropink.

Sources

1. Cropink. Business on Facebook Statistics
2. Meta. Facebook Ads Library
3. Cropink. Best Facebook Ads Spy Tools
4. HubSpot Marketing. How to Spy on Your Competitors' Facebook Ads (Step-by-Step)