Competitor Ads Monitor (Meta)
Pick competitor Facebook Pages and SMAQ tracks every active ad they run on Meta — Facebook, Instagram, Messenger — using the public Meta Ad Library.
The Competitor Ads Monitor scans the Meta Ad Library (Meta's public ads transparency archive) for ads currently running by competitor Pages you specify. SMAQ pulls the creative, copy, and platforms each ad runs on; the AI surfaces themes, new launches, and shifts in messaging.
What you need
A Meta Ads connection isn't required — the Ad Library is public.
The exact Facebook Page URL or Page name for each competitor (e.g.
https://facebook.com/nikeor justnike).The country whose Ad Library to scan (Meta partitions by country).
Configuration
[Screenshot needed] Competitor Ads Monitor configuration form with three competitor Page URLs entered and country set to "United States".
Competitor Pages
Add one or more competitor Pages. Each entry includes:
Page name or URL
Label (optional — how you want to refer to them in the email)
You can monitor up to 10 competitor Pages per automation. For more, create multiple automations.
Country
Pick the country whose Ad Library to scan. Meta partitions ads geographically — a brand running ads in the US and Germany shows different sets of ads in each.
Schedule
Weekly is the standard cadence. Creative trends don't move fast enough to need daily.
Output
Every run produces:
An email with grouped ad creatives per competitor, themes the AI extracted, and any "new this week" callouts.
A snapshot with the full creative grid — viewable in-app under the automation's Snapshots tab.
[Screenshot needed] Example email output showing three competitor sections, each with 4–6 ad thumbnails and one-paragraph theme summaries.
Tips
Pick true competitors, not aspirational ones. Tracking a Nike-sized brand is interesting but rarely actionable.
Track 2–5 competitors per monitor. Beyond 5, the email gets too long to read.
Use the labels. "Direct competitor — local SEO" beats "competitor #3" when you're scanning the email.
Watch for new copy angles, not just new visuals. A competitor shifting from product-led to lifestyle-led copy is signal.
Limitations
Only ads currently running. Past ads are visible in the Ad Library but SMAQ focuses on live ones.
Spend isn't visible. The Ad Library doesn't share spend (with rare political-ads exceptions).
Audience info isn't visible. You see the ad, not who it's targeted at.
Tier availability
Scale & Agency — fully available.
Starter, Growth — not available.
Related
Google Competitor Ads Monitor — the equivalent for Google Ads.
Ad Fatigue Detector — for your own ads, not competitors'.
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