How do I find my competitors' ads on Facebook and Instagram?

Everything a brand runs on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Threads is listed in the Meta Ad Library the moment it goes live, with the creative, the copy, the start date and the platforms. There is no way to hide an ad from it. That makes competitor research on Meta unusually honest compared with search ads or TV: you see exactly what they show, and for how long.

Go to facebook.com/ads/library, set the country, type the brand's name, and pick the page from the dropdown. Brands often have more than one page (a US page, a UK page, a "Kids" line), so check the dropdown for all of them. Then switch "Active ads" to "All ads" to see what they ran and stopped.

The library indexes pages, not domains. Three ways in:

• Open their Instagram profile: the page name is usually the handle, and the bio link confirms the domain.
• Type the domain into the Ad Library search anyway. The dropdown often suggests the page.
• Search a phrase from their homepage in the keyword box; the first result's page is usually theirs. Click the page name to open the whole account.

Dovey does this step for you: paste a URL into the search and it resolves the page whose ads link to that domain.

Sort in your head by start date and look for two things.

Run time. Meta advertisers kill what does not work within days. Anything still running after 90 days has earned its budget. In Dovey's index on September 24, 2026, the median fitness app ad had run 66 days and 162 of 416 had run 90 days or more.

Versions. "12 ads use this creative and text" means they took one idea and made twelve variants: audiences, placements, small copy changes. That is scaling, and it is the strongest tell in the library. Fitbod runs a form-tips video with 18 versions that has been live 176 days. Buildify's "Build apps with AI" has 129 versions over 341 days.

New ads with one version are tests. Worth watching, not worth copying yet.

317 days running

Hungryroot

2 variations

The Easiest Way to Eat Healthy

“My cholesterol is 1/3 of what it was, I have lost 20 lbs and I feel amazing every day!” - Jessica K, Customer Review

Remix

128 days running

Healthy Eating by Hungryroot

4 variations

The Easiest Way to Eat Healthy

“My cholesterol is 1/3 of what it was, I have lost 20 lbs and I feel amazing every day!” - Jessica K, Customer Review

Remix

154 days running

Hungryroot

3 variations

This is what happens when you say yes to outsourcing

This is what happens when I decide I’m done thinking about groceries. Meals, snacks, breakfast, lunch — all handled without the mental load. Hungryroot builds your order around your family, your schedule, and how you actually eat… which is why my husband is now carrying half the kitchen across the table 😅 If you’re tired of answering “what’s for dinner?” every single night, this has been such an easy solution for busy weeks. 💸 I shared the discount code at the end of the video if you want to try it for less. #HungryrootPartner #hungryroot #ad #hungryrootdelivery #hungryroothaul

150 days running

Hungryroot

2 variations

What I ate today with Hungryroot

Eating healthier at home has become so much easier with the help of @hungryroot. Use my code JELLYBEANSWEETS or visit the link in my bio for 40% off your first Hungryroot order!!! #hungryrootpartner #hungryroot #whatieatinaday #foodie

Remix

• Angles. Are they leading with an offer, a problem, proof, a story? A brand whose long runners are all problem-led is telling you what its market responds to.
• Offers. The exact discount, trial or guarantee in the copy. "40% off first delivery" (Hungryroot, 148 days) and "Buy 1, Get 1 Free" (Peak Footwear, 401 days, 24 versions) are the ones that lasted.
• Who appears. A creator in three of their ads is a creator they keep paying. Dovey reads the handle off the creative when it is visible, so a category's working creators are a search away.
• Format mix. Share of video versus stills. Fitness apps in the index are 64% video; supplements 21%.

When you are about to copy the ad. A competitor's long runner works for their offer, their price and their audience. Take the angle and the structure, not the words and the picture. Also, a brand with 300 active ads is running a machine you cannot read by hand; that is the point at which a tool that reads every creative earns its fee.

Type the brand or paste its website into the search. Dovey opens the account, puts the top performers first by run time and versions, tags each creative with its hook, angle, offer and format, plays the videos with transcripts, and shows the creators it can see. The same search works inside Claude and ChatGPT through the connector.