Google Ads Transparency MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that gives AI assistants like Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, and any MCP client access to the Google Ads Transparency Center. Research competitor ads, analyze advertiser profiles, and compare ad presence across 42 regions — all through natural language.

100% Free. No API keys. Uses publicly available Google Ads Transparency data. No Google account or API key required.

What Can You Do?

Ask Claude questions like:

• "What ads is Nike running in the US right now?"

• "Search for advertisers in the fitness industry"

• "Compare Shopify's ad presence in the US vs UK vs India"

• "Show me the advertiser profile for amazon.com"

• "Get details on this specific ad creative"

Related MCP server: google-ads-transparency-mcp

Quick Start

npx gads-transparency-mcp

Or install globally:

npm install -g gads-transparency-mcp

Requirements: Node.js >= 18. Puppeteer downloads Chromium automatically on first install.

Claude Desktop Configuration

Add to your Claude Desktop config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gads-transparency": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "gads-transparency-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. Done — Google Ads Transparency data is now available in Claude.

Use with Other MCP Clients

Works with any MCP-compatible client including Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code + Cline, and more:

npx gads-transparency-mcp

Available Tools (5 Competitive Intelligence Tools)

Examples

Example 1: Research competitor ads

User prompt: "Show me all ads currently running by Nike in the US"

Expected behavior:

• Calls search_advertiser with query "nike.com" and region "US" to find Nike's advertiser ID

• Then calls get_advertiser_ads with the advertiser ID and region "US"

• Returns a list of Nike's currently running ads with headlines, descriptions, ad format (text/image/video), and thumbnails

Example 2: Get an advertiser's profile and verification status

User prompt: "Show me the advertiser profile for amazon.com"

Expected behavior:

• Calls search_advertiser with query "amazon.com" to find Amazon's advertiser ID

• Then calls get_advertiser_profile with the advertiser ID

• Returns Amazon's advertiser name, Google verification status, total ad count, ad format distribution (text/image/video), and platform presence

Example 3: Compare ad presence across regions

User prompt: "Compare Shopify's ad presence in the US, UK, and India"

Expected behavior:

• Calls search_advertiser with query "shopify.com" to find Shopify's advertiser ID

• Then calls compare_ad_presence with the advertiser ID and regions ["US", "GB", "IN"]

• Returns ad counts and format distribution for each region, highlighting where Shopify is most and least active

Use Cases

• Competitor Ad Research — See what ads your competitors are running right now

• Ad Creative Inspiration — Browse ad creatives by advertiser, format, and region

• Market Intelligence — Understand advertiser activity across different markets

• Brand Safety — Monitor who's advertising alongside your brand

• Regional Strategy — Compare ad presence across 42 countries to plan international campaigns

• Advertiser Verification — Check if an advertiser is verified by Google

• PPC Research — Research ad strategies without expensive competitive intelligence tools

Supported Regions (42 Countries)

Features

• Built-in Rate Limiting — 2s between requests, max 30/min, with random delays

• Response Caching — 1hr TTL, up to 1000 entries, reduces redundant scraping

• Anti-Detection — Rotating user agents, viewport randomization, stealth plugin

• Automatic Retries — Exponential backoff (5s-30s) on failures, up to 3 attempts

• Graceful Shutdown — Proper cleanup of browser instances on exit

Limitations

• Rate Limited: ~30 requests/minute to avoid blocking

• No Historical Data: Only currently running ads are visible

• Regional: Must specify region for each request

• May Break: Google can change the Transparency Center at any time

• No Spend Data: Ad spend info only available for political ads

Requirements

• Node.js >= 18

• Chrome/Chromium — Puppeteer downloads it automatically on install

• No API keys, no authentication, no Google account needed

Related

• Google Ads Transparency Center — The data source

• Model Context Protocol — The open standard for AI-tool integration

• Claude Desktop — Anthropic's desktop AI assistant

• MCP Server Registry — Curated list of MCP servers

Privacy Policy

See PRIVACY.md for our complete privacy policy.

TL;DR: This extension runs locally on your machine. It accesses only publicly available data from the Google Ads Transparency Center — the same data anyone can view in a browser. No data is collected, stored, or transmitted to any third party by this MCP server. No API keys or authentication required.

License

MIT