Not by name: Facebook ads are targeted at people through interests, demographics, your own customer and visitor data and lookalikes, not through another company's customer list. You can still reach people who shop the way a competitor's customers do, and you can study a competitor's ads in the Meta Ad Library.
TL;DR
- Meta's targeting works on people's traits and your own data, not on a rival's customers.
- You can reach similar people with interests, lookalike audiences and retargeting.
- Retargeting means your own visitors, who are often the people comparing you with competitors.
- The Meta Ad Library shows ads currently running, so it is research, not targeting.
- Meta's Advertising Standards apply to every audience you build.
- Check current Meta wording before you build any audience from competitor-related terms.
What does Meta allow?
Meta's own description of detailed targeting is about reaching people who fit an interest or behavior, and it can expand beyond them. Advantage+ detailed targeting can show your ad to additional people whom Meta believes are likely to get you more or cheaper results. It applies to detailed targeting only. Location, age, gender and language settings, and your exclusions, continue to apply.
Two limits matter for competitor work:
- Meta's Advertising Standards apply. Each ad is reviewed against Meta's policies, and advertisers must not engage in discriminatory practices. The advertiser is responsible for understanding and complying with the standards.
- The estimated audience size is an estimate. When an audience is expanded, Meta says the figure will not reflect the total number of accounts that match.
The Advertising Standards page does not address competitor targeting as a topic. Read the current policy text yourself before you build an audience that depends on a competitor's name, and ask your Meta rep if you are unsure.
Let Madgicx's AI do the work
Its AI marketer finds what's working and prepares the next move. You approve.
Try for Free ($0 Trial)How can you reach people who shop with competitors?
You cannot pick a rival's customers, but three routes reach people who look like them.
| Route | What it is | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Interests | People who show interest in a category, a topic or related brands | When you know what your buyers care about |
| Lookalike audiences | People similar to a source list you own, such as past buyers | When you have a customer list or enough purchases |
| Retargeting | People who already visited your site or engaged with you | When people compare you before they buy |
Our glossary entries on lookalike audiences and retargeting your own visitors define both, and the entry on targeting gives the wider picture. Start from your own best customers, because a lookalike of them tends to share the traits that matter to you.
A practical example: a skincare store sells to people who also follow a larger rival. It builds one ad set on interests around the category, one on a lookalike of its past buyers and one that retargets its site visitors. Each ad set runs the same creative with its own budget, so the store can see which route finds buyers at the lowest cost.
How do you research competitor ads in the Meta Ad Library?
The Meta Ad Library searches all the ads currently running across Meta technologies. Set your location, choose an ad category and search by keyword or advertiser. Ads appear within 24 hours of their first impression.
You will see what a competitor says and shows, how many ads it runs and which formats it uses. You will not see its results or its audience. Use it to learn what hooks, offers and formats the market sees, then write your own. Our answer on the Meta Ad Library for creative research gives a research sheet to follow.
What mistakes and policy traps should you avoid?
- Using a competitor's name in your ad as if you were them. It can mislead people.
- Making claims about the competitor you cannot back up. Keep comparisons factual and checkable.
- Copying an ad word for word. It earns no trust and gives you no learning.
- Targeting on traits Meta restricts. Meta's standards prohibit wrongful discrimination, and special categories add limits to targeting.
- Relying on an audience estimate. For expanded audiences it is not a count of matching accounts.
If a tactic needs a workaround to pass review, skip it.
Where Madgicx fits
Madgicx's Ad Library in the AI Ad Hub lets you browse other brands' ads and save them to inspiration boards. AI Ad Generator can create image ads from any ad in the Meta Ad Library, ready to edit with your own product and words. Audience Studio mixes lookalikes and interests, and Creative Insights shows what makes your own ads win. You choose the audiences and approve every ad.
FAQ
Can I target people who follow a competitor's Page?
Not by name. Build audiences from interests, your own customers and lookalikes of them instead.
Can I use a competitor's name in my ad copy?
You can, but keep the claim accurate and check Meta's Advertising Standards first. Do not suggest you are the competitor.
Can I see who a competitor targets?
No. The Meta Ad Library shows the ads, not their audiences or results.
Is it legal to advertise against a competitor?
That depends on your jurisdiction and your claims, so ask a lawyer. Meta also expects every advertiser to follow the law where they advertise.
Related
- Answers: Meta AI for ad targeting
- Answers: Meta Ad Library for creative research
- Answers: How to find winning Facebook ads
- Glossary: Targeting
Go deeper
Our post with target audience examples shows how stores define and reach their buyers.
Sources
- About Advantage+ detailed targeting, Meta Business Help Center
- Introduction to the Advertising Standards, Meta Transparency Center
- Meta Ad Library, Meta
