ChatGPT answers, unedited

Yes. If your goal is specifically “show me competitors’ video ads, where they’re running, and give me a reasonable estimate of views/performance,” I’d shortlist these:

My first choice would be VidTao if YouTube is your main concern. Its current offering says it indexes 40M+ YouTube video ads and provides things like estimated spend, targeting/country information, landing pages and campaign timelines. blog.vidtao.com

If you need Meta + TikTok + YouTube in one place, I'd look at AdSpyder. It currently advertises coverage across 15+ platforms and lets you track competitors, creative, run duration and traffic destinations. adspyder.io

One important caveat: “estimated views” is not the same thing as actual impressions/reach. Competitor tools are usually modeling or aggregating publicly observable signals; they don't have access to the competitor's private Ads Manager reporting. So I'd treat view numbers as directional rather than accounting-grade data.

For free/native research, TikTok's current Creative Center is surprisingly useful: its Top Ads system can sort eligible ads by Reach, CTR, 2-second view rate and 6-second view rate, although TikTok notes that the displayed ads are a subset authorized by advertisers. blog.vidtao.comadspyder.ioads.us.tiktok.com Meta's Ad Library lets you search active ads across Meta products, but ordinary commercial ads don't get the same detailed spend/reach disclosure that political/issue ads do. www.facebook.com

If you tell me which platforms matter most (YouTube, Facebook/Instagram, TikTok, or all three), I can narrow this to the 2–3 tools that actually give you the placement + estimated-view data you're after, including current pricing.

If you mean “see where competitors’ video ads are running, estimate reach/views, identify winning creatives, and understand placements”, I’d look at dedicated ad intelligence platforms rather than just ad libraries.

Here are the strongest options depending on what you care about:

My recommendation by use case

• YouTube ads specifically: start with AdSee AI or Pathfinder. They are closest to your stated need because they focus on video ads and performance signals. AdSee AI Pathfinder
• DTC/ecommerce competitors across Meta + TikTok + Google + YouTube: look at Adsmom or similar multi-channel tools. Adsmom
• Brand/enterprise monitoring (CTV, streaming, TV): MediaRadar or AdClarity are better fits. MediaRadar BIScience Insights

A caveat: no tool can truly know a competitor’s exact paid views or revenue. The best platforms infer performance from signals like observed views, ad longevity, spend models, placement data, and frequency patterns. For example, some YouTube-focused tools emphasize view counts or estimated spend rather than claiming access to private ad accounts. AdSee AI Pathfinder

If you tell me your channel (YouTube, Meta, TikTok, CTV, Amazon, etc.) and whether you care more about creative inspiration or media-spend intelligence, I can narrow it to 2–3 choices.

If by “placements” you mean where competitors’ video ads are running, which creatives they’re using, and how many views/impressions those ads appear to be getting, I’d shortlist these:

• vidtao.com — best for YouTube. It’s specifically built around YouTube ad intelligence and provides estimated spend, campaign timelines, and large-scale video-ad discovery. Its data is modeled, so treat the numbers as directional rather than exact. VidTao VidTao Help Center
• usepathfinder.com — interesting if views are your priority. It specifically advertises real YouTube view counts, views/day, and whether an ad is still live, which is unusually close to what you're asking for. Pathfinder
• bigspy.com — best for cross-platform coverage. It covers YouTube alongside Meta, TikTok and other networks, with competitor-ad search and estimated impression data. Its own documentation cautions that impressions are algorithmic estimates and aren't equivalent to actual views. BigSpy BigSpy
• adeye.ai — best if you want one dashboard. It aggregates competitor ads from Meta, Google, TikTok and YouTube and tags creatives by hook, angle and format. AdEye

What I'd pick

If YouTube is the main channel, I'd test Pathfinder + VidTao. Pathfinder looks particularly compelling for your views / views-per-day requirement, while VidTao gives you deeper competitive-spend and campaign intelligence.

If you need Meta + TikTok + YouTube together, I'd lean toward BigSpy or AdEye.

One important caveat: competitors' exact paid placement/impression data generally isn't publicly observable. These platforms infer performance from available signals, so “estimated views” or “estimated impressions” should be treated as competitive-intelligence indicators, not audited numbers. VidTao Help Center BigSpy

If you tell me which platforms you care about (YouTube, Meta, TikTok, etc.) and roughly what budget you want to spend per month, I can narrow this to the best 2–3 options.

If your goal is specifically “show me competitors’ video ads, where they’re running, and roughly how many views/impressions they’re getting,” I’d shortlist these:

1. Pathfinder — best for YouTube
   • Tracks competitors’ YouTube video ads.
   • Gives actual YouTube view counts and views/day, plus whether the ad is still live.
   • Particularly useful if YouTube is your main channel. usepathfinder.com

2. Similarweb Ad Intelligence — best for placements + estimated impressions
   • Broadest fit for what you described.
   • Covers video/display/social/search and can show publishers, campaigns, creatives, estimated impressions and spend.
   • Its video-ad product specifically tracks YouTube pre-, mid-, and post-roll ads. support.similarweb.comsupport.similarweb.com
   • Important distinction: these are modeled estimates, not the competitor's actual account-level impression data. Similarweb says its estimates combine traffic data with modeled CPM/CTR. support.similarweb.comsupport.similarweb.com

3. Foreplay — best for creative intelligence
   • Huge database covering Facebook/Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn and others.
   • Excellent for seeing competitor creatives, hooks, copy, landing pages, running duration and active status.
   • Its Spyder product tracks competitor campaigns, while its API exposes competitor video data and active status. www.foreplay.co
   • I wouldn't choose it primarily if estimated view/impression volume is your most important metric.

My pick

If you need one tool, I'd start with Similarweb for the combination of placement + estimated impressions + competitive media strategy.

If you're primarily buying YouTube video, I'd test Pathfinder alongside it because its actual YouTube view-count data is much closer to the specific metric you're asking for. usepathfinder.com

One caveat: there isn't a magic tool that can reliably reveal a competitor's true paid impressions across every platform. Treat third-party view/impression numbers as estimates unless they're public platform metrics.

If you tell me whether you're interested in YouTube, Meta, TikTok, or all three, I can narrow this down to the 2–3 best tools and their current pricing/features.

If you want to see competitors’ video ads, where they’re running, and estimate reach/views, the right tool depends heavily on the channel (YouTube, Meta/TikTok, CTV, programmatic). A few strong options:

My shortlist by use case:

• YouTube ads → start with AdSee AI or VidTao. These are closest to “show me the competitor’s video ads + where they’re running + how big they might be.” www.vidtao.comwww.adsee.ai
• DTC/ecommerce across Meta + TikTok + Google → look at Adsmom or HypeOn. adsmom.com
• Brand/enterprise monitoring (CTV, streaming, TV) → MediaRadar or similar enterprise tools. www.mediaradar.com

A few caveats:

• “Estimated views” are usually modeled, not exact. Platforms infer impressions/spend from observed placements, duration, geography, and benchmarks. www.adsee.ai
• For YouTube specifically, many of the best-performing ads are unlisted, so tools that only scrape public channels miss a lot of competitor activity. www.vidtao.comwww.adsee.ai

If you tell me which platform you care about (YouTube, TikTok, Meta, CTV, etc.) and your budget (free / <$200/mo / enterprise), I can narrow it to the best fit.

If by “reveal” you mean see competitors’ video creatives, where they’re running them, and estimate reach/views, I’d shortlist these:

1. Pathmatics by Sensor Tower — best overall for serious competitive intelligence.

It provides estimated impressions and spend, actual creatives, channels, placements, and creative-level analysis across YouTube, Facebook/Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and other digital environments. Its estimates are modeled, so treat “views” as directional rather than exact. sensortower.comsensortower.com

2. AdClarity via Semrush — best if you want placement + performance intelligence.

Semrush says AdClarity can surface competitors’ display/video/social campaigns and metrics such as impressions, views, costs, clicks and share of voice, including an estimated-expenditure view. www.semrush.com

3. AdEye — best lightweight option for creative discovery.

It aggregates public ads from Meta, Google, TikTok and YouTube into one searchable feed and lets you track competitors and their creatives. It’s more of an ad-library/creative intelligence product than a robust impression-estimation platform. adeye.ai

4. Semrush Advertising Research — useful, but primarily for search ads.

Great for competitor paid-search keywords, ads, traffic and estimated costs, but it isn't the tool I'd choose specifically for video-placement intelligence. www.semrush.com

My pick

If your requirement is specifically:

“Competitor X → show me their video → where did it run → how much reach/impressions did it likely get → how much did they probably spend?”

I'd start with Pathmatics. It is much closer to that exact use case than a conventional “ad spy” tool. sensortower.comwww.semrush.com

One important caveat: competitors' exact video views usually aren't publicly knowable. The better intelligence platforms estimate impressions/reach from observed ad exposure and modeling, so I'd use the numbers for relative benchmarking and trend detection, not as audited figures. sensortower.comsensortower.com

If you tell me whether you're mainly interested in YouTube, TikTok, Meta/Instagram, or CTV, I can narrow this to the 2–3 tools that have the strongest coverage for that platform.

Yes. If your goal is specifically “show me competitors’ video ads, where they’re running, and give me a reasonable estimate of how much reach/views they’re getting,” I’d look at ad-intelligence / ad-spy platforms, rather than just the native ad libraries.

My shortlist

My first pick: AdLibrary.com if you want one dashboard covering multiple networks. It currently advertises coverage across Meta, TikTok, Google/YouTube, LinkedIn and other platforms, with historical ads and performance signals. adlibrary.com

For ecommerce specifically, I'd test Minea alongside it. It tends to be more useful when the question is “What ads are other DTC brands running, which creatives/products are they pushing, and what appears to be working?”

One important caveat about “estimated views”

Be careful with this metric. Competitor ad platforms generally cannot know the actual paid impressions/views of another advertiser. Their numbers may be modeled from observable signals, placement data, duration, engagement, or third-party datasets.

For example, TikTok's own Top Ads/TikTok One data can expose actual performance metrics such as video views, CTR and 6-second view rate for qualifying ads—but the collection is limited to ads that meet TikTok's criteria/authorization requirements, so it isn't a complete view of every competitor campaign. ads.us.tiktok.com

Likewise, Meta's Ad Library is excellent for seeing active ads and where they're running, but ordinary commercial ads don't give you the same detailed spend/reach disclosure that political/issue ads do. www.facebook.com

What I'd use

If you're doing serious competitor intelligence, I'd use:

AdLibrary.com → Minea → native Meta/TikTok libraries

That combination lets you answer three different questions:

1. What exactly are competitors running? — creative, copy, hooks, offers.
2. Where are they running it? — Meta/Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc.
3. What appears to be winning? — longevity, engagement, views/performance estimates and repeated creative concepts.

If you tell me what platforms you're interested in (Meta, TikTok, YouTube, CTV, etc.) and roughly how much you're willing to spend per month, I can narrow this down to the 2–3 tools I'd actually pay for and compare their current pricing/features.

If your main goal is “show me competitors’ video ads, where they’re running, and give me a reasonable estimate of reach/views”, I’d look at AdClarity by Semrush first.

• Semrush AdClarity — Best fit for serious competitive intelligence. It covers display, video, and social, and provides publisher/placement information plus estimated impressions, views, costs, clicks, and share of voice. Semrush says AdClarity covers 50+ markets and 650,000+ publishers. www.semrush.com
• AdEye — Better if you want a simpler, unified feed across Meta, Google, TikTok, and YouTube, with AI tagging of hooks, angles, formats, and longevity signals. However, it explicitly notes that ordinary commercial ad libraries don't disclose exact competitor budgets. adeye.ai
• Native libraries (free) — Good for verifying the actual creative: Meta Ad Library, TikTok Creative Center, and Google Ads Transparency Center. The downside is that they're siloed and generally don't give you reliable competitor spend/view estimates. adlibrary.com
• Semrush Advertising Research itself is useful for Google paid-search competitors, but it isn't the tool I'd choose specifically for video-placement intelligence. www.semrush.com

My recommendation

If you're building a competitor video-ad intelligence workflow, I'd rank them:

1. AdClarity — best for placements + estimated performance
2. AdEye — best for quickly browsing/analyzing creatives across platforms
3. Native ad libraries — best free verification layer

One important caveat: “estimated views” aren't the same as actual video views. Competitor platforms generally can't see the advertiser's private analytics. Tools infer performance from observable data, modeled impressions/traffic, placement data, ad longevity, etc. So I'd treat those numbers as directional estimates, not audited figures. www.semrush.comadeye.ai

If you tell me which platforms matter most (YouTube, Meta, TikTok, CTV, etc.) and roughly what budget you're willing to spend, I can narrow this to the best 2–3 tools and compare their actual coverage, estimated-view methodology, pricing, and API/export capabilities.

If your goal is specifically “show me where competitors’ video ads are running and roughly how many people saw them,” I’d shortlist these:

1. Pathmatics by Sensor Tower — my first choice
   • Tracks competitor video across YouTube, social, display, OTT/CTV, etc.
   • Gives estimated impressions and spend, plus the actual creatives.
   • Lets you examine publishers/placements, platforms, flighting, creative, and landing pages.
   • Its estimates are based on panel data, crawlers, platform integrations and modeling, so treat “views/impressions” as estimates rather than ground truth. sensortower.com
   • Best fit if you're primarily doing digital/video competitive intelligence.

2. MediaRadar — best if you need broader media intelligence
   • Tracks competitor activity across video, YouTube, CTV/OTT, social, display, TV and more.
   • Particularly useful if you want to connect video activity to overall media spend, share of voice, networks, dayparts and channel mix. www.mediaradar.com
   • I'd choose this over Pathmatics if your analysis extends beyond digital video.

What I'd pick

One important caveat: “views” aren't necessarily actual platform-reported video views. These services generally observe ads and model impressions/spend, so I'd use the numbers for competitive benchmarking and relative scale, not as an exact count of people who watched 50%/100% of a video. sensortower.com

If you tell me whether you're mainly interested in YouTube, TikTok/Meta, CTV/streaming, or programmatic video, I can narrow this down to the best 2–3 tools and what each can actually reveal about a competitor's placements.

Yes — if your goal is specifically “show me where competitors’ video ads are running + estimate how many impressions/views they’re getting,” I’d shortlist these:

1. Sensor Tower Pathmatics — best overall

This is my first choice for serious competitive intelligence. It tracks YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, display/video, OTT/CTV and more, and provides estimated spend and impressions, actual creatives, publishers/placements, flighting, and competitive comparisons. sensortower.com

Particularly relevant to your question: Pathmatics says it can break down creative performance by format and placement and show where ads run, while its methodology combines panel data, crawlers, integrations, and modeled estimates. sensortower.comwww.semrush.com

Best for: agencies, brands, and teams that want a broad picture of who is spending what, where, and with which creatives.

2. Semrush AdClarity — best if you want placement-level investigation

AdClarity is especially interesting for your use case because it explicitly tracks video ad placements such as:

• Pre-roll
• Mid-roll
• Post-roll
• Masthead

It also covers social placements and can identify competitors advertising on particular publisher sites, social platforms, or YouTube channels. www.semrush.com

Semrush says AdClarity provides metrics including impressions, costs, views, clicks and share of voice, plus Top Ads and campaign reporting. www.semrush.comwww.semrush.com

Best for: answering “Where exactly are my competitors buying video inventory?”

3. Semrush Advertising Toolkit — good cheaper/broader option

I'd consider this if you also care about Google Ads/search competitors rather than just video. Its traditional Advertising Research product is much more search-focused, while AdClarity handles the display/video/social side. www.semrush.comwww.semrush.com

What I'd pick

One important caveat: “estimated views” aren't the same as the advertiser's actual first-party view count. These platforms model impressions/views from observed ads, panels, crawlers, platform data, etc., so I'd use them primarily for relative competitive benchmarking, not as audited numbers. Pathmatics explicitly describes its impression figures as estimates. sensortower.comwww.semrush.com

If you tell me which platforms you care about (YouTube, TikTok, Meta, CTV, etc.) and roughly your budget, I can narrow this to the best 2–3 tools and compare pricing, coverage, and exactly what competitor data each exposes.

If you want competitors’ video ad placements + estimated views/impressions, you’ll want an ad intelligence platform, not just an ad library. The best choice depends on where your competitors are advertising:

My shortlist by use case:

• You care about YouTube, Meta, TikTok video ads: start with Adsmom or similar creative intelligence tools; they’re closer to “what ads are running and which ones appear to scale.” adsmom.com
• You care about CTV/streaming placements: look at MediaRadar, Pathmatics, or iSpot.tv. www.mediaradar.com
• You need a competitive intelligence dashboard for an agency/team: MediaRadar or Similarweb are stronger enterprise-style options. www.similarweb.comwww.mediaradar.com

One caveat: no third-party tool can truly reveal a competitor’s private ad-account metrics. “Estimated views,” “impressions,” and “spend” are modeled from observed signals, panels, platform data, or estimates—not the competitor’s actual dashboard numbers. www.blog.udonis.cowww.mediaradar.comwww.videointelhq.com

If you tell me which platforms matter (YouTube, Meta, TikTok, CTV, etc.) and your budget range, I can narrow this to 2–3 tools.

If your goal is specifically “show me where competitors’ video ads are running + estimate how many impressions/views they’re getting,” I’d shortlist these:

1. Sensor Tower Pathmatics — best overall for serious competitive intelligence
   • Tracks video/social/display/OTT, including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and CTV.
   • Gives estimated impressions and spend, plus the actual creatives, publishers/placements, targeting and flighting.
   • Strong choice if you need a defensible media-planning/competitive-intelligence dataset rather than just an ad swipe file. sensortower.comsensortower.com

2. Similarweb Ad Intelligence — best balance of breadth + usability
   • Shows competitor video/display campaigns, creatives, publishers, impressions and estimated spend.
   • Its video-specific tooling tracks YouTube pre-, mid-, and post-roll ads and lets you examine campaigns and landing pages. support.similarweb.comsensortower.com
   • I'd pick this if you want competitor research across multiple channels, not just video.

3. Adbeat — best for web/video publisher placements
   • Particularly useful for understanding which publishers and ad networks competitors use.
   • Covers pre-roll video alongside display/native and provides competitive publisher/ad analysis. www.adbeat.com

4. VidTao — best inexpensive/free option for YouTube creative research
   • Very useful for finding competitors' YouTube video ads and studying creatives.
   • Its current library claims 40M+ YouTube ads, including unlisted ads. blog.vidtao.com
   • Caveat: I'd use it primarily for creative discovery, not as my source of truth for estimated impressions.

My recommendation

If estimated views/impressions are essential, I'd start with Pathmatics. If you also want broader competitive web intelligence, Similarweb is probably the better all-around platform.

One important distinction: these tools generally provide modeled estimates, not the competitor's actual first-party view counts. Pathmatics explicitly describes its impression/spend figures as estimates based on panel and other data, while Similarweb models impressions using traffic and CPM/CTR data. support.similarweb.comsensortower.com

If you tell me what channels you care about (YouTube, Meta, TikTok, CTV, programmatic, etc.) and roughly what you'd spend per month, I can narrow this to the best 2–3 tools and compare their coverage, pricing, and data quality.

If your main requirement is “show me where competitors’ video ads are running + estimate how many impressions/views they’re getting,” I’d narrow it to these:

Best overall: Sensor Tower / Pathmatics

This is the strongest fit if you need actual media-intelligence data rather than just an ad swipe file. Pathmatics provides estimated impressions and spend, creative-level data, publisher/placement information, and coverage across social, video, mobile, and OTT/CTV. Its estimates are modeled from panel data, crawlers, integrations, and other inputs. sensortower.comadeye.ai

Use it if: you're doing serious competitive media analysis and want to answer “Where are they buying, how much scale are they getting, and what creatives are they putting behind it?”

Best for video creative research: AdEye

AdEye unifies Meta, Google, TikTok, and YouTube ads and is more oriented toward quickly finding competitors' creatives, hooks, formats, and longevity signals. It explicitly notes that normal commercial ad libraries don't expose competitors' exact budgets. adeye.ai

Use it if: your priority is “show me all their video ads and help me identify the ones they're sticking with.”

Worth considering: Adsmom

Adsmom combines competitor ads across Meta, TikTok, and Google, with reach filters and modeled spend attached to individual ads. It also transcribes video/audio, which is useful for searching competitors by messaging rather than just keywords. adsmom.com

The important caveat: there generally isn't a tool that can tell you a competitor's true video views with certainty. For commercial ads, platforms keep much of that performance data private. Tools like Pathmatics instead provide modeled impression estimates, while ad libraries give you observable signals such as run duration and creative persistence. sensortower.comadeye.ai

My recommendation:

• Need placements + estimated impressions/views: Pathmatics
• Need fast competitor video-ad discovery: AdEye
• Need creative/audio analysis + reach estimates: Adsmom
• Need only free/public data: combine Meta Ad Library + Google Ads Transparency Center + TikTok Creative Center + YouTube's public ad data. adeye.ai

If you tell me which platforms matter (YouTube, TikTok, Meta, CTV, etc.) and roughly how much you're willing to spend per month, I can narrow this to the 2–3 tools I'd actually shortlist.

If you mean competitive video ad intelligence (seeing where competitors’ video ads appear, the creatives, placements, and some estimate of reach/views), the right tool depends on whether you care about paid social, YouTube, CTV/streaming, or programmatic video.

Here are the strongest options:

My recommendation by use case

1. “Where are competitors buying video inventory?”

• Pick MediaRadar or iSpot.
• Best if you’re analyzing CTV, OTT, streaming apps, broadcast, or large-brand campaigns. www.ispot.tvwww.mediaradar.comadsmom.com

2. “Which competitor video ads are running on Meta/TikTok/Google, and which ones look like winners?”

• Look at Adsmom or similar creative-intelligence tools.
• Useful for DTC/ecommerce teams doing paid social iteration. adsmom.com

3. “I need a swipe file of competitor ads and creative patterns.”

• Competable or VideoIntelHQ are closer fits. www.ispot.tvwww.videointelhq.comwww.mediaradar.comwww.competable.ioadsmom.com

Important caveat

No tool can reliably reveal a competitor’s exact paid video views or conversions. Most provide modeled estimates (reach, impressions, spend, persistence, airing frequency) based on observed signals rather than access to the competitor’s ad account. www.ispot.tvwww.mediaradar.comadsmom.com

If you tell me:

1. platform (YouTube / TikTok / Meta / CTV / all),
2. company size (solo marketer, agency, enterprise), and
3. whether you need placements or mainly creative ideas,

I can narrow this to the top 2–3 tools.