Tools
Spy tool
Software that scrapes and indexes competitors' ad creatives.
A spy tool is software that scrapes ad creatives, landers, and (sometimes) advertiser performance signals from public ad networks — Taboola, Outbrain, MGID, push, Facebook Ad Library, TikTok Creative Center. Used for competitive intel: which creatives are running, how long, what landing pages they point to. Major paid spy tools: Anstrex, AdPlexity, AdSpy, BigSpy, PowerAdSpy. mediabuyer.site is a free / open spy alternative for native.
Example
Operator uses Anstrex to find a Taboola creative that's been running for 47 days against the same advertiser_id — a strong signal it's profitable and worth modeling.