# Multi-Channel Ad Intelligence: Meta, Google, LinkedIn, TikTok (`capable_cauldron/multi-channel-ad-intelligence`) Actor

Search competitor ads across Meta Ad Library, Google Ads Transparency Center, LinkedIn Ad Library, and TikTok Commercial Content Library in one run, with a single normalized output schema across all platforms. If one platform fails or has no coverage for a query, the rest still return results.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/capable_cauldron/multi-channel-ad-intelligence.md
- **Developed by:** [Capable Cauldron](https://apify.com/capable_cauldron) (community)
- **Categories:** Marketing, Social media, Business
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 5 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.90 / 1,000 ad scrapeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

Scrape **competitor ads from four ad libraries in one run**: the **Meta Ad Library** (Facebook + Instagram), **Google Ads Transparency Center**, **LinkedIn Ad Library** and **TikTok Commercial Content Library**. Results come back in **one normalized schema**, so you never reconcile field names between platforms. Type a brand name or keyword, pick a country, and you get ad copy, creatives, CTAs, landing pages and run dates as one dataset. **No login, cookies or API keys** for any platform.

If one platform fails or has no coverage for a query, the other three still run and return their results. Built on Apify, so you can **schedule** a weekly sweep of your competitive set, trigger it from the **API** or a webhook, and push results to **Google Sheets** or your BI tool. Click **Try for free** to open it in Console. Apify's free plan includes $5 of monthly credit, which buys about **3,000 ads**.

See it run in 21 seconds:

https://youtu.be/kjMIAuq-Y-w

### What can Multi-Channel Ad Intelligence do?

- 🎯 Search **four ad libraries at once** (Meta, Google, LinkedIn, TikTok) or any subset
- 📝 **Ad copy and headlines**, the actual text competitors are running (Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok headline)
- 🖼️ **Creatives**: direct image and video URLs, HD where available
- 🔗 **CTAs and landing pages**, what they ask for and where they send traffic (Meta, Google)
- 📅 **Run dates and longevity**, how long an ad has been live (Google, TikTok)
- 🏢 **Advertiser profiles**: page and advertiser IDs, follower counts, verification
- 🧩 **One schema across platforms**: fields a platform doesn't expose come back `null`, never renamed
- 🛡️ **Partial-failure safe**: a blocked platform reports its error in the run summary and the rest continue
- 📤 Export to **CSV, Excel, JSON or XML**, or pull results via API

#### What data can you extract from each ad library?

| Platform | Ad copy / CTA | Creative | Run dates | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Meta** (Facebook + Instagram) | Yes | Yes | Rarely shown | Worldwide |
| **Google** | Landing URL only | Yes | Yes | Worldwide, ~1 year history |
| **LinkedIn** | Yes | Yes | Not shown | Worldwide, B2B |
| **TikTok** | Headline only | Yes | Yes | EEA + UK + Switzerland, last 30 days |

TikTok's Commercial Content Library exists to meet European transparency rules and has no US brand-ad coverage. A country outside the EEA returns zero TikTok ads. That is expected, not an error, and the other three platforms still run.

### How to scrape competitor ads from Meta, Google, LinkedIn and TikTok

[![multi channel ad intelligence input form](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/9FGooi7IrKs0P8DcV/records/multi-channel-ad-intelligence-input.png)](https://console.apify.com/sign-up)

1. Click **Try for free** to open the Actor in Apify Console.
2. Enter one or more **queries**: brand names (`nike`) or keywords (`running shoes`).
3. Pick **platforms**. Leave the default to search all four.
4. Set **country** to an ISO-2 code such as `US` or `DE`, or `ALL` for worldwide. For TikTok results choose an EEA/UK/CH country.
5. Set **max ads per query**. 50 per platform is enough to see what the data looks like.
6. Keep **residential proxy** enabled (the default). Facebook throttles datacenter IPs and LinkedIn's library sits behind Cloudflare.
7. Click **Start**. Ads stream into the dataset per platform. The **Creatives** view shows images and videos side by side.
8. Export from the **Storage** tab as CSV, Excel or JSON, or fetch the dataset from the API.

### How much does it cost to scrape Meta, Google, LinkedIn and TikTok ads?

Pricing is per event: each ad returned, plus a small fee per search. There is no charge for compute time.

| Event | When it fires | Price |
|---|---|---|
| `ad-scraped` | Each ad added to your dataset | $0.0015 |
| `query-processed` | Each query on each platform, even if it finds 0 ads | $0.02 |
| `apify-actor-start` | Per GB of allocated memory, with a minimum of one event | $0.00005 per GB ($0.0002 at the 4 GB default) |

Volume discounts on paid Apify plans bring the per-ad price down to $0.0009.

**Worked examples**

- 1 brand × 4 platforms × 50 ads = 200 ads + 4 searches, costs **$0.3802**
- 5 brands × 4 platforms × 100 ads = 2,000 ads + 20 searches, costs **$3.4002**
- 20 brands × Meta only × 200 ads = 4,000 ads + 20 searches, costs **$6.4002**

These examples use free-plan prices and one run at the default 4 GB memory. Each additional run has its own start charge.

Apify's free plan ($5/month) covers about 3,000 ads. Nothing is charged on top. To cap spend, lower `maxAdsPerQuery` or trim the `platforms` list. When your Apify spending limit is reached, each platform stops on its own.

### Input

| Field | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `queries` | array | yes | — | Brand names or keywords to search |
| `platforms` | array | no | all four | Any of `meta`, `google`, `linkedin`, `tiktok` |
| `country` | string | no | `ALL` | ISO-2 code (`US`, `GB`, `DE`) or `ALL`. TikTok needs an EEA/UK/CH code |
| `maxAdsPerQuery` | integer | no | 50 | Ads to fetch per query, per platform |
| `activeStatus` | string | no | `ACTIVE` | `ACTIVE`, `INACTIVE` or `ALL`. Meta only; the other libraries have no status filter |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | no | residential | Apify proxy settings. Keep residential for Meta, LinkedIn and TikTok; Google works from any IP |
| `includeRawData` | boolean | no | `false` | Attach the unprocessed platform response under `raw`. Useful for debugging; increases dataset size |
| `metaOptions` | object | no | `{}` | Meta overrides, e.g. `{"publisherPlatforms": ["instagram"], "mediaType": "VIDEO"}` |
| `tiktokOptions` | object | no | `{}` | TikTok overrides, e.g. `{"region": "FR"}` to pick a library country when `country` is `ALL` |
| `googleOptions` | object | no | `{}` | Reserved for future Google-specific filters |
| `linkedinOptions` | object | no | `{}` | Reserved for future LinkedIn-specific filters |

```json
{
  "queries": ["nike"],
  "platforms": ["meta", "google", "linkedin", "tiktok"],
  "country": "DE",
  "maxAdsPerQuery": 50,
  "activeStatus": "ACTIVE",
  "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"] }
}
```

### Output

One item per ad, identical field names on every platform. This representative Meta row shows the shape for the Nike query above; copy, media and dates vary between runs.

```json
{
  "platform": "meta",
  "adId": "1702938977100376",
  "advertiserId": "15087023444",
  "advertiserName": "Nike",
  "format": "carousel",
  "headline": "Just Do It",
  "body": "Neue Kollektion. Jetzt entdecken.",
  "ctaText": "Shop Now",
  "landingUrls": ["https://www.nike.com/de/"],
  "imageUrls": ["https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/..."],
  "videoUrls": [],
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/...",
  "isActive": true,
  "firstShownDate": null,
  "lastShownDate": null,
  "daysActive": null,
  "libraryUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?id=1702938977100376",
  "query": "nike",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-08-05T12:00:00+00:00"
}
```

Which fields each platform fills: Meta and LinkedIn provide ad copy; Google and TikTok provide `firstShownDate`, `lastShownDate` and `daysActive`; TikTok exposes the ad title as `headline` but no body, CTA or landing URL. Unavailable fields are `null`, so your schema stays stable.

A per-platform run summary is saved to the key-value store as `OUTPUT`, and its `message` is shown as the run's status in Console:

```json
{
  "status": "PARTIAL_SUCCESS",
  "reason": "SOME_SEARCHES_FAILED",
  "totalAds": 137,
  "platforms": {
    "meta": { "adsFound": 50, "advertisersFound": 3, "errors": [], "queries": { "nike": { "ads": 50, "totalAvailable": 1240 } } },
    "google": { "adsFound": 50, "advertisersFound": 1, "errors": [] },
    "linkedin": { "adsFound": 37, "advertisersFound": 1, "errors": [] },
    "tiktok": { "adsFound": 0, "advertisersFound": 0, "errors": [{ "query": "nike", "error": "TikTok did not return results for this search right now. This is usually temporary, so try again later." }] }
  },
  "message": "Collected 137 ads. TikTok did not return results for some searches; the reason is listed per platform in the OUTPUT record. Try those again later."
}
```

`status` is `SUCCESS`, `PARTIAL_SUCCESS` (at least one platform had errors), `NO_RESULTS` (no ads were collected, and `message` says why) or `VALIDATION_ERROR` (a problem with the input). You are not charged for a search that a platform refused or did not answer.

### Use cases

Start with one of these published example Tasks:

- [Track a competitor across Meta and Google](https://apify.com/capable_cauldron/multi-channel-ad-intelligence/examples/mcai-track-a-competitor-s-ads-across-meta-and-google)

- [Build an Instagram and Facebook ad swipe file](https://apify.com/capable_cauldron/multi-channel-ad-intelligence/examples/mcai-instagram-facebook-competitor-ad-swipe-file)

- [Audit HubSpot's Google ad creatives](https://apify.com/capable_cauldron/multi-channel-ad-intelligence/examples/mcai-google-ads-creative-audit-for-hubspot)

- [Research a B2B competitor's LinkedIn ads](https://apify.com/capable_cauldron/multi-channel-ad-intelligence/examples/mcai-linkedin-b2b-competitor-ad-tracker)

- [Research TikTok ads for DTC brands in Europe](https://apify.com/capable_cauldron/multi-channel-ad-intelligence/examples/mcai-tiktok-ad-library-dtc-brands)

- [Search all four ad libraries for one competitor](https://apify.com/capable_cauldron/multi-channel-ad-intelligence/examples/mcai-full-competitor-ad-intelligence-4-platforms)

- **Competitor ad monitoring.** A scheduled weekly run per competitor, diffed against last week, tells you what they launched and what they killed.

- **Creative research.** Filter by `daysActive` on Google and TikTok to find long-running ads. An ad that has been live for months is one the advertiser keeps paying for, which is the best public evidence that it converts.

- **B2B demand-gen research.** LinkedIn coverage shows the messaging and offers your ABM competitors are paying to put in front of the same accounts.

- **Category research.** Search a keyword instead of a brand to see every advertiser bidding on it, across all four platforms.

- **Agency reporting.** One dataset covering a client's whole competitive set, exported to Sheets or Looker.

- **AI analysis.** Feed normalized ad copy and creative URLs into an LLM pipeline without per-platform branching.

### API and integrations

Run it from your own code with the Apify API. Swap in your token; the Actor id stays as written.

**Python**

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")
run = client.actor("capable_cauldron/multi-channel-ad-intelligence").call(run_input={
    "queries": ["nike", "adidas"],
    "platforms": ["meta", "google", "linkedin", "tiktok"],
    "country": "DE",
    "maxAdsPerQuery": 50,
})
for ad in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(ad["platform"], ad["advertiserName"], ad["headline"])
```

**JavaScript**

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from "apify-client";

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: "<YOUR_API_TOKEN>" });
const run = await client.actor("capable_cauldron/multi-channel-ad-intelligence").call({
  queries: ["nike", "adidas"],
  country: "DE",
  maxAdsPerQuery: 50,
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
```

**CLI**

```bash
echo '{"queries": ["nike"], "country": "DE"}' | apify call capable_cauldron/multi-channel-ad-intelligence --silent --output-dataset
```

Connect results to **Google Sheets, Airtable, Slack, Make, Zapier or n8n** from the Actor's **Integrations** tab, run it on a **Schedule** to monitor competitors weekly, or fire a **webhook** when a run finishes.

### FAQ

#### Is it legal to scrape the Meta Ad Library and other ad transparency libraries?

All four libraries are published by the platforms as public ad-transparency tools, and the Actor reads them without logging in. You are responsible for how you use the data; review each platform's terms and the regulations that apply to you.

#### Do I need a login or API key for any platform?

No. Meta, Google, LinkedIn and TikTok all publish their ad libraries openly. The Actor needs no cookies, tokens or developer accounts.

#### Which countries are supported?

Meta, Google and LinkedIn cover any country their library covers: pass an ISO-2 code, or `ALL` for worldwide. TikTok's Commercial Content Library covers only the EEA, UK and Switzerland (`DE`, `FR`, `GB`, ...). That limit is TikTok's, and it applies to the library itself.

#### Why does Google return no ad copy?

Google's Ads Transparency Center shows the creative and the landing domain but not the ad text, so `body` and `ctaText` are `null` for Google ads. The creative image or video URL is always returned.

#### Why did TikTok return zero ads?

Either `country` is outside the EEA/UK/CH, or nothing in the last 30 days matched the query. TikTok search is a keyword match over ad text and advertiser names, so try the brand name rather than a product line.

#### What happens if one platform is blocked or down?

The run continues on the remaining platforms and reports `PARTIAL_SUCCESS` in `OUTPUT`, with the reason next to that platform. If every platform comes back empty, the run still finishes normally: `OUTPUT.status` is `NO_RESULTS` and the status message names the platforms that did not answer, so schedules and webhooks can react to it. Refused searches are not charged.

#### Why does LinkedIn sometimes return no results?

LinkedIn's Ad Library blocks datacenter IPs after a handful of requests. Keep the default residential proxy setting; if a search still comes back empty, try it again later.

#### Can I get ads for one specific brand?

Yes. Search the brand name; the Actor also returns the matching advertiser profiles in `OUTPUT` so you can confirm you have the right page, then filter the dataset by `advertiserId`.

#### Can I scrape ad libraries with Python?

Yes. See the Python snippet under **API and integrations**. The `apify-client` package is on PyPI; pass the same input you would use in Console.

### Other Actors by capable_cauldron

| Actor | What it does |
|---|---|
| App Store Reviews Scraper (private testing) | Reviews and ratings for iPhone and iPad apps, grouped by app and country |
| Company Job Postings Scraper (private testing) | Open roles and hiring summaries from supported company job boards |
| Bulk Email Validator (private testing) | Syntax, mail-routing, disposable-domain and role-inbox checks |
| Work Email Finder (private testing) | Verified professional emails from LinkedIn URLs or a name and company domain |
| GTM Account Enrichment (private testing) | Public company contacts, technologies and hiring signals with an account fit score |
| [Investor Database Search](https://apify.com/capable_cauldron/investor-database-search) | Filter investors by stage, industry and geography and export available partner contacts |
| [LinkedIn Comment Scraper](https://apify.com/capable_cauldron/linkedin-comment-scraper) | LinkedIn comments and replies using your own session cookies |
| LinkedIn Post Comments Scraper (private testing) | Comments, replies and reactions on public LinkedIn posts without cookies |
| [LinkedIn Profile Posts Scraper](https://apify.com/capable_cauldron/linkedin-profile-posts-scraper) | Public profile posts with 56 enriched fields, including engagement and content metadata |
| TikTok Shop USA Scraper (private testing) | US product, shop, creator and shoppable-video data from TikTok Shop |
| Website Contact Scraper (private testing) | Public emails, phone numbers and social profile links from company websites |
| Website Tech Stack Detector (private testing) | Visible website technologies and the evidence supporting each detection |

### Support

Found a bug or need a field that isn't here? Open an issue on the Actor's **Issues** tab. Issues are usually answered within 24 hours. If you need a custom version (another ad library, creative downloads, a private deployment), describe it in an issue and we will scope it.

# Actor input Schema

## `queries` (type: `array`):

Advertiser names or keywords to search for (e.g. a competitor brand). Each query is searched on every selected platform.

## `platforms` (type: `array`):

Which ad libraries to search. Results from all platforms share one normalized schema. If a platform fails or is unsupported for a given query, the others still run and are returned — see runSummary for per-platform status.

## `country` (type: `string`):

ISO-2 country code to filter ads by (e.g. US, GB, IN), or ALL for worldwide. TikTok's Commercial Content Library only covers the EEA, UK, and CH (e.g. DE, FR, GB) — other countries return zero TikTok ads by design, not an error. LinkedIn and Meta cover ads worldwide but only show reach/targeting detail for EU-served ads.

## `maxAdsPerQuery` (type: `integer`):

Upper limit of ads fetched for each query on each platform.

## `activeStatus` (type: `string`):

Filter by whether ads are currently running. Applies to Meta; Google, LinkedIn, and TikTok have no status filter and list whatever creatives their library currently shows.

## `includeRawData` (type: `boolean`):

Attach the unprocessed platform response for each ad under the `raw` field. Increases dataset size.

## `metaOptions` (type: `object`):

Optional overrides for the Meta adapter, e.g. {"publisherPlatforms": \["instagram"], "mediaType": "VIDEO"}.

## `googleOptions` (type: `object`):

Optional overrides for the Google adapter (reserved for future use).

## `linkedinOptions` (type: `object`):

Optional overrides for the LinkedIn adapter (reserved for future use).

## `tiktokOptions` (type: `object`):

Optional overrides for the TikTok adapter, e.g. {"region": "FR"} to pick a specific Commercial Content Library country when `country` is ALL or unset.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Proxy to route scraping traffic through. Residential is required for reliable Meta results.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "queries": [
    "nike"
  ],
  "platforms": [
    "meta",
    "google",
    "linkedin",
    "tiktok"
  ],
  "country": "ALL",
  "maxAdsPerQuery": 50,
  "activeStatus": "ACTIVE",
  "includeRawData": false,
  "metaOptions": {},
  "googleOptions": {},
  "linkedinOptions": {},
  "tiktokOptions": {},
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `ads` (type: `string`):

One item per ad with identical fields across platforms: adId, advertiserName, format, headline, body, ctaText, imageUrls, videoUrls, landingUrls, firstShownDate, lastShownDate, daysActive, libraryUrl.

## `runSummary` (type: `string`):

Per-platform counts, advertiser profiles found for each query, and any per-query errors.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "queries": [
        "nike"
    ],
    "platforms": [
        "meta",
        "google",
        "linkedin",
        "tiktok"
    ],
    "country": "ALL",
    "metaOptions": {},
    "googleOptions": {},
    "linkedinOptions": {},
    "tiktokOptions": {},
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": [
            "RESIDENTIAL"
        ]
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("capable_cauldron/multi-channel-ad-intelligence").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "queries": ["nike"],
    "platforms": [
        "meta",
        "google",
        "linkedin",
        "tiktok",
    ],
    "country": "ALL",
    "metaOptions": {},
    "googleOptions": {},
    "linkedinOptions": {},
    "tiktokOptions": {},
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": True,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
    },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("capable_cauldron/multi-channel-ad-intelligence").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "queries": [
    "nike"
  ],
  "platforms": [
    "meta",
    "google",
    "linkedin",
    "tiktok"
  ],
  "country": "ALL",
  "metaOptions": {},
  "googleOptions": {},
  "linkedinOptions": {},
  "tiktokOptions": {},
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}' |
apify call capable_cauldron/multi-channel-ad-intelligence --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,capable_cauldron/multi-channel-ad-intelligence"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/ZFmaBgW3NjCgMv8d8/builds/XdGqxuIZTQ7AvZC7t/openapi.json