Guide · Meta Ads · Claude
How to connect Claude to Meta Ads, now that Meta hosts its own connector
The setup takes a few minutes. The part that matters is the Facebook login screen, because the permissions you grant there decide whether Claude can only read or can also spend.
Short answer: Meta runs an ads MCP server at https://mcp.facebook.com/ads. In Claude, add it as a custom connector with that address and sign in with Facebook. In Claude Code it is one command. Grant ads_read if you only want answers, and ads_management only if you want Claude to create and edit ads. Meta’s tools do both.
What Meta’s connector is
Meta calls it the Ads MCP server, one of its ads AI connectors, next to a command-line tool. It opened in beta in April 2026, and on 16 July 2026 to any developer with a Meta app. On 31 October 2026 its get-started page says owning a Meta app is no longer required. It works with any assistant that speaks MCP.
Its tools come in seven groups, from Meta’s overview:
| Group | What it does | Reads or writes |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting | Campaign performance in detail | Reads |
| Ad creation and management | Creates and edits campaigns, ad sets and ads | Writes |
| Catalogs | Creates catalogs, adds products, checks feeds | Mostly writes |
| Signals and datasets | Health and quality of your pixel and Conversions API data | Reads |
| Help and troubleshooting | Searches the Meta Business Help Center | Reads |
| A/B tests and lift studies | Creates tests and reads the ones you have | Both |
| Activity log | Changes made in the ad account | Reads |
The steps, for each Claude
claude.ai, the desktop app and the mobile apps
- Open the connectors. On Pro or Max: Customize > Connectors > + Add > Add custom connector. On Team or Enterprise an Owner adds it in Organization settings > Connectors, and each member then clicks Connect. The Free plan allows one custom connector.
- Name it and paste the address:
https://mcp.facebook.com/ads. Claude detects the Facebook sign-in by itself. - Sign in with Facebook, as the person whose role on the ad accounts you want Claude to have. Read the permissions on that screen before you continue.
- Switch it on in a chat from the + menu, under Connectors, and ask which ad accounts it can see.
Meta’s page gives no steps for claude.ai. For ChatGPT and Claude Code it uses your Meta app ID as the OAuth client ID. If the sign-in fails without one, Claude’s connector settings have a “Use your own OAuth client” option, and that is where the app ID goes.
Claude Code
Meta’s command, with your own app ID
claude mcp add --transport http --client-id <META_APP_ID> meta-ads https://mcp.facebook.com/adsThe first time you call a tool, Claude Code opens the Facebook sign-in in your browser.
Menu names from Anthropic’s help article on custom connectors, and the command from Meta’s get-started page, both checked on 31 October 2026.
See the Meta Ads MCP options, and what each one can changeThe permissions decide what Claude can spend
Meta asks for ads_mcp_management plus one of two ads permissions. Which one you grant is the whole decision:
| Permission | What Claude can do with it | Grant it when |
|---|---|---|
ads_read | Read performance on the ad accounts you granted | You want answers, audits and reports |
ads_management | Also create, edit and pause campaigns, ad sets and ads | You want Claude to change things, and you know who checks before it does |
business_management, catalog_management and others | Unlock more tools: business assets, catalogs, Pages, Instagram | Only for the tool you need them for |
Earlier versions of the connector asked for ads_management even to read. Meta’s page now lists ads_read as enough. If an older setup has the bigger one, you can remove the connection and sign in again with less.
The locks outside Claude
Two more locks sit outside Claude. The first is your own role on each ad account: a role that can only view performance cannot change a campaign, whatever the connector asks for. The second is the rules that admins of a business portfolio can set for agents, including read-only access to performance data.
If you manage clients, the money at risk is theirs. A connection with ads_management can launch a campaign from one misread sentence. The guide to connecting an app to your Meta ad account shows where to see what you granted, and how to take it back.
The other ways in
- A third-party server. Several vendors host their own Meta servers, often with Google Ads in the same connector. You sign in to their Meta app, so check what it asks for and where the data goes.
- Your own server on the Marketing API. A Meta app in Development mode with
ads_readreads your own accounts. A client outside the app needs Live mode, advanced access, business verification and App Review. The Meta Marketing API access guide covers each step. - Ours. Climent Ads reads Meta with
ads_readonly, next to Google Ads, GA4 and Search Console. Its MCP server is in testing, behind OAuth, and a campaign changes only through a proposal that a person signs in the product.
Whichever you use, Claude reads what Meta reports. Meta’s conversions and Google’s are counted differently, so reading the two together needs more than two connectors.
Questions people actually ask
Does Meta have an official connector for Claude?
Yes. Meta runs an ads MCP server at https://mcp.facebook.com/ads that works with any MCP assistant. In Claude you add it as a custom connector and sign in with Facebook. In Claude Code it is one claude mcp add command.
Can Claude change my Meta ads?
Yes, if you grant ads_management when you sign in. Meta’s connector has tools that create and edit campaigns, ad sets and ads. With ads_read only, Claude can read performance and cannot change anything.
How do I keep the connection read-only?
Grant ads_read and not ads_management on the Facebook screen. Sign in as a person whose role on the ad account only views performance. Portfolio admins can also set rules that keep an agent to reading.
Do I need a Meta app or business verification?
On 31 October 2026 Meta’s page says owning a Meta app is not required, although its Claude Code and ChatGPT steps use an app ID as the OAuth client. Business verification is for your own app when outside businesses connect to it.
Which Claude plan do I need?
Custom connectors work on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise. The Free plan allows one. On Team and Enterprise an Owner adds the connector, and each member connects with their own Facebook login.
Can I connect clients’ ad accounts?
Claude sees the ad accounts your Facebook user can reach and that you pick during the sign-in. For a client, a role that only views performance is the safe one, so the connector cannot spend their budget.
Related reading
- How to connect Claude to Google Ads. No hosted address from Google, so the route depends on which Claude you use.
- How to connect Claude to Google Analytics. GA4 has a read-only scope, so the lock goes on at the sign-in.
- Connect a third-party app to your Meta ad account. What the app gets when you click Continue, and where to take it back.
- Meta Marketing API access. Your own app, its modes and permissions, and why clients cannot connect at first.
- Meta Ads MCP: the options. Meta’s server, third-party ones and ours, and what each one can change.
- Connect your AI to your ad data. The same choice across Meta and Google, for any assistant.
- What is MCP. The standard behind every connector, in plain words.
Written by Manuel Climent · Last updated:
Who wrote this
I’m Manuel Climent, Manu to most people. I’m a media buyer, and I built Climent Ads Assistant because no ads software I paid for was worth it. It reads Meta, Google Ads, GA4 and Search Console one client at a time. On Meta, the only ads permission it asks for is ads_read.