MCP servers

What is Meta's Ads MCP server, and how do I connect it to Claude or ChatGPT?

By The Tofu team ·

Meta's ads MCP server is an MCP server Meta hosts at https://mcp.facebook.com/ads. It lets ChatGPT, Claude, Claude Code and other AI agents pull your Meta ads reporting and create or edit campaigns, ad sets, ads, audiences and catalogs. To connect, add that URL as a custom connector in Claude or a custom MCP server in ChatGPT, then sign in with Facebook. You don't need a developer app, and Meta says setup takes minutes. New campaigns, ad sets and ads start paused, and anyone with full control of the business portfolio can block actions or cap budgets.

As of October 2026.

What is Meta's ads MCP server?

It's Meta's own remote MCP server, so there is nothing to install. Meta announced it in open beta on April 29, 2026, as part of "Meta ads AI connectors," then opened it to developers' own Meta apps and added agent rules on July 16, 2026.

The clients Meta documents depend on the page. Its help article names ChatGPT, Claude, Claude Code and Perplexity, with the same URL for all of them. Its developer page on Meta MCP servers lists Claude Desktop, Claude Code, ChatGPT on the web, the Codex app and CLI, and the Cursor app and CLI as validated, and says clients not listed "aren't supported yet." Neither page mentions a fee. Meta also warns: "You may not have access to all of these tools and features yet."

What can it read and change?

AreaWhat the agent can do
ReportingPull spend, impressions, CTR, CPC, CPM and conversions with breakdowns and date ranges, flag unusual changes, compare ad sets with industry benchmarks, and read your opportunity score
Campaigns, ad sets and adsCreate them (paused), update existing ones, and activate them, which Meta notes "starts spending budget"
Creatives and mediaCreate creatives, upload images and videos, preview ads by placement, and boost Instagram posts
Custom audiencesCreate, update and delete audiences, and add or remove people on customer lists with hashed data
CatalogsCreate catalogs, add or delete products, and troubleshoot feed problems
SignalsCheck the health and quality of your signals setup
TestsCreate and manage A/B tests and conversion lift studies
Activity logRead the changes made in an ad account, mirroring the Ads Manager history page
Research and helpSearch the public Meta Ad Library and the Meta Business Help Center

What keeps it from spending money on its own?

New items start paused, you approve actions in your AI app, and admins can set rules:

  • Paused by default. Meta's developer docs say its write tools "create entities in a paused state; your AI client asks for confirmation before activation," and Meta said on October 6, 2026, that agent-staged work "now lands as a draft in Ads Manager." Edits to items that are already running use a separate update tool, and Meta's docs don't say those wait in a paused state, so read those requests closely.
  • Your approval. Meta says "Any actions taken on your behalf require your authorization through the AI agent."
  • Rules. Anyone with full control of the business portfolio can block actions or cap budgets per ad account or catalog (Step 1). Through Meta's API, rules can also block budget increases above a percentage, and targeting, creative or status changes. Meta says rules are in limited availability.
  • Read-only access. Meta's developer page on its MCP servers says you can change each connected app's scope to Read or Manage in your Facebook account's Business Integrations settings, and recommends keeping Read unless the agent needs to make changes.

Meta's help page says it's "unlikely that an account would be banned simply for using it"; for what does get accounts restricted, see whether connecting an AI agent can get your Meta ad account banned.

Before you start

  • A Facebook account or Meta Managed Account with access to the ad account the agent will use.
  • Claude on any plan (Free allows one custom connector), or ChatGPT on the web with custom MCP servers allowed. OpenAI says workspace permissions apply; its help article on eligible plans blocked our check, and AdPlug, an MCP vendor, says ChatGPT's Free plan can't add them.
  • Full control of the business portfolio, if you want to set rules.
  • No Meta developer app, unless you want to connect through your own (Step 6).

Step 1: Decide what the agent may do

Set rules before you connect, if they're available to you:

  1. Go to Settings in Meta Business Suite.
  2. Below Integrations, select Ads MCP server. If it isn't there, you don't have access to rules yet; keep the connection on Read instead (Step 5).
  3. Select the ad account or catalog.
  4. Allow or block actions. Meta's examples: switch Create campaigns from Allowed to Blocked; set Edit or set budget to Blocked; or allow budget edits but switch Budgets set above this amount to Blocked and enter a cap, such as $1,000.

When any action is blocked, you'll see Limited next to Take actions in this ad account or Take actions in this catalog. A partner you share an ad account with can set its own rules, which apply only to the partner's people.

Step 2: Connect it to Claude

These steps work on the web and in Claude Desktop:

  1. Go to Customize > Connectors.
  2. Click + Add, then Add custom connector. On Team and Enterprise plans, an Owner or Primary Owner adds it instead under Organization settings > Connectors (click Add, hover over Custom, then select Web), and each member then finds the connector under Customize > Connectors and clicks Connect.
  3. Enter a name, such as "Meta Ads", and the URL https://mcp.facebook.com/ads. Click Continue.
  4. Review the sign-in settings Claude detected, click Continue, then click Add.
  5. When asked, sign in through Facebook Login for Business with your Facebook account or Meta Managed Account, and approve the permissions.
  6. In a chat, click +, select Connectors and switch Meta Ads on for that conversation.

Step 3: Connect it to Claude Code or Codex

In Claude Code, run:

claude mcp add --transport http meta-ads https://mcp.facebook.com/ads

Then type /mcp in Claude Code, pick meta-ads and sign in. Add --scope user to use it in every project. If you connect through your own Meta app, Meta's developer docs give this command instead:

claude mcp add --transport http --client-id <META_APP_ID> meta-ads https://mcp.facebook.com/ads

In Codex, run:

codex mcp add meta-ads --url https://mcp.facebook.com/ads
codex mcp login meta-ads

Step 4: Connect it to ChatGPT

  1. In ChatGPT on the web, open Plugins, select the plus button, then Add custom MCP server.
  2. Enter a name and, under Connection, the server URL https://mcp.facebook.com/ads.
  3. Choose OAuth for authentication. If you use your own Meta app, Meta says to enter its app ID as the OAuth client ID in the advanced OAuth settings.
  4. Review the risk warning, select I understand and want to continue, then Create as a plugin.
  5. Install the plugin and sign in with Facebook. In a chat, type @ and select it.

ChatGPT asks you to confirm every tool not marked read-only. It lets you remember an approval for the rest of a conversation; don't do that for tools that activate ads or change budgets.

Step 5: Check what it can do before it changes anything

  1. Ask: "What tools do you have for Meta ads?" Meta suggests this, since tools are rolling out gradually.
  2. Ask for your ad accounts, then a simple report, such as your top-spending campaigns over the last 30 days, and compare it with Ads Manager.
  3. If you only want reporting, set the connection to Read in your Facebook account's Business Integrations settings.
  4. After any change, ask the agent for the ad account's activity log, or open the history in Ads Manager.

Step 6: Connect through your own Meta app (developers only)

Most people can skip this. Add the Create & manage ads with ads MCP server use case to your app, then set the app's redirect URL in Facebook Login for Business for your AI client, or pass an access token with ads_mcp_management plus ads_read or ads_management. For app review when you manage other businesses' accounts, and for Google and LinkedIn, see connecting Claude or ChatGPT to Google, Meta and LinkedIn ad accounts.

Common problems

ProblemWhy it happensFix
Ads MCP server is missing from Business Suite settingsRules are in limited availabilityKeep the connection on Read in Business Integrations, and turn down write requests
The agent says a tool isn't availableMeta is rolling tools out gradually, or your sign-in didn't grant the permissionAsk the agent which tools it has; reconnect and approve all permissions; on your own token, add ads_management, catalog_management, business_management, pages_show_list or instagram_basic
A request to create a campaign or change a budget is deniedA rule blocks it, and the account shows LimitedChange the rule in Business Suite, or make the change in Ads Manager yourself
The agent can read but not change anythingThe connection is set to Read, or your token has only ads_readSwitch the connection to Manage, or request ads_management
A new campaign or ad isn't deliveringIt was created paused or as a draftReview it in Ads Manager and publish it, or approve the agent's activation request
Sign-in fails with your own Meta appThe AI client's redirect URL isn't set in Facebook Login for BusinessAdd that client's redirect URL to the app
A system user token is rejectedAdmin-role system user tokens can't reach the serverUse an Employee-role system user

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