Meta Just Made Competitor Spying So Much Better — Here's How to Use It

I just watched Ben Heath's latest video on Meta's Ad Library update and had to break it down for you, because if you're running Facebook or Instagram ads and you're not spying on your competitors yet, you're leaving money on the table.

Meta's Ads Library now shows you which of your competitors' ads are actually performing — for free.

Let me be honest. For years, the Ads Library was kind of a toy. You could see what ads your competitors were running, but you had no idea which ones were working and which were flops. You'd stare at 47 variations and have no clue which one to model.

That just changed.

What Changed in the Meta Ads Library

In his video, Ben walks through the update and points out the big one: you can now see how long an ad has been running. If a competitor has been running the same ad for 60+ days, that's not happening by accident. That ad is making them money.

Here's Ben's process, broken down:

1. Go to the Meta Ads Library (free, just Google it). Log into a Facebook profile so you can access the tool.
2. Set the location to where the ads are running — not where you are. This is the one people mess up. If your competitor is running US ads and you leave it set to the UK, you'll see nothing useful. Set it to "All" if you want everything.
3. Search by the competitor's Page name. You'll see every ad they have active.
4. Filter by "active" and sort by longest-running. The ads that have been live the longest are the winners.

What Ben Says You Should Actually Look For

Key Points:

• Ads that have been running 60+ days are your gold. Those are tested, scaled winners.
• Don't just copy the creative — copy the offer structure, the hook format, and the landing page flow.
• Look at ad sets with multiple versions of the same core ad. That means they're A/B testing and scaling.
• Pay attention to how they open the video or ad. The first 3 seconds are the format your competitor has paid to validate.

Ben's point that really hit me: this isn't about plagiarizing. It's about not starting from zero. Your competitor has spent tens of thousands of dollars figuring out what works in your niche. You can walk in and start at step 47 instead of step 1.

Here's Where I'd Add My Own Spin

In my experience, most people who use the Ads Library still overlook two things:

1. The landing page they're sending traffic to. Don't just click "See more" on the ad. Actually click through. See what offer they're running. See what their opt-in page looks like. See how long their sales page is. That's where the real money lives.

2. The comments section of the ad. Meta lets you see comments on most ads. If people are asking "Is this legit?" or "How do I sign up?" — the ad is converting. If the comments are dead or negative, the ad isn't working even if it's been running forever.

And one thing Ben touched on briefly but I want to hammer home: model, don't copy. I've seen people straight-up lift competitor ad copy word for word and wonder why it didn't work for them. Your voice, your offer, your audience are different. Take the structure and make it yours.

How to Actually Use This in Your Next Campaign

Here's the workflow I'd run if I was launching a new campaign this week:

1. Pick 5 competitors in your exact niche.
2. Pull up the Ads Library for each one.
3. Find the 3 longest-running ads per competitor. That's 15 proven winners.
4. Screenshot them. Save them to a swipe file.
5. Look for patterns. Do they all use testimonials? Do they all lead with a bold promise? Do they all use split-screen video?
6. Build your ad using the pattern, not the exact copy.

That entire process takes about an hour. And it gives you a baseline that's been validated with real money across dozens of winning campaigns.

The Bottom Line

Ben's video is a reminder that Meta just handed us a huge gift for free. The Ads Library update means you can now filter for winners instead of guessing. If you're running paid ads in 2026 and you're not spending 30 minutes a week in the Ads Library, you're advertising with one eye closed. Go spy on your competitors today — and don't start your next campaign from scratch ever again.