Google Ads Transparency Center or Audience Intel?
Google publishes its own record of who advertises and what they ran. Look there first for a rival's search and YouTube ads. Google lists no charge for using it.
Google describes it as a searchable repository of advertisers and the ads they have served on Search, Display, Gmail and YouTube. support.google.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- Main job
- Google Ads Transparency Center: Public record of advertisers and ads served on Google
- Audience Intel: Reads your site and named rivals' sites as buyers would
- Search
- Google Ads Transparency Center: By advertiser or website name, filtered by date and targeted location. support.google.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- Audience Intel: Rivals you name
- Keeps a record between visits
- Google Ads Transparency Center: No; it is searched each time
- Audience Intel: Not today. A competitor ad watch is in build.
Where Google Ads Transparency Center is strong.
Like Meta's library, it is Google's own record, not a scraped copy.
- Users can search by advertiser or website name and filter by date and targeted location. support.google.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- Results show which ads were shown in a region, the format of each ad and the last date it ran. blog.google (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- Advertiser details include name, location and the entity that pays for the ads, with 'verified' or 'unverified' badges. support.google.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- Google provides API access to data about ads served in the EEA. support.google.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- Google announced the new Ads Transparency Center on 29 March 2023, rolling out to users around the world. blog.google (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
Pricing, as Google Ads Transparency Center publishes it
- No charge is listed on Google's help or announcement pages for using the Ads Transparency Center. support.google.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- Searching carries no listed charge. support.google.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
Limits Google Ads Transparency Center states itself
- Targeting information, total recipients and subject matter are shown only for ads served in certain countries or regions. support.google.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- For unverified advertisers, the payer name comes from the payment profile, and advertisers are responsible for its accuracy. support.google.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- Use of the EEA ads data through the API is subject to the Ads Transparency Center Terms of Service. support.google.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
Google Ads Transparency Center and Audience Intel answer different questions.
The Transparency Center answers 'what has this advertiser run on Google, where, and when did it last run?' For a quick look at a rival's search and YouTube ads it is the obvious first stop.
It is a search tool, not a record you keep. It does not tell you what is new since your last visit, and it does not connect a rival's ads to the keywords they bid on. Audience Intel's reports already take paid search data from SpyFu (listed on our trust page), and a competitor ad watch that keeps snapshots between runs is in build; it runs for nobody yet.
What Audience Intel does today is read the landing pages, yours and your rivals', as five buyer types would.
Where the Transparency Center is better: it is Google's own data, Google lists no charge for using it, and it covers formats and regions no third party sees in full.
Google Ads Transparency Center beside Audience Intel.
Their column is sourced and dated; ours is what runs today, with anything in build marked as such.
| Question | Google Ads Transparency Center | Audience Intel |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Public record of advertisers and ads served on Google | Reads your site and named rivals' sites as buyers would |
| Search | By advertiser or website name, filtered by date and targeted location. support.google.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13 | Rivals you name |
| Keeps a record between visits | No; it is searched each time | Not today. A competitor ad watch is in build. |
| Price | No charge listed. support.google.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13 | The Insight Report and the Intel loop comparison are free. The paid plan, Team, is £195/mo after a £595 Foundation Month. |
Pick by the question you are asking.
Use Google Ads Transparency Center when
- You want to see a rival's Google ads now
- You want to check who pays for an advertiser's ads
- You need EEA ad data through Google's API
Use Audience Intel when
- You want the landing pages behind those ads read as a buyer would
- You want your own site judged beside the same rivals
- Later, when the ad watch ships: you want changes, not searches
Use the Transparency Center to see the ad; use Audience Intel to read the page it sends buyers to.
Google Ads Transparency Center or Audience Intel: questions
Is the Ads Transparency Center free?
Google's help and announcement pages list no charge for using it.
Where do the facts about the Google Ads Transparency Center on this page come from?
From the Google Ads Transparency Center's own website, read on 13 October 2026. Each fact links to the page it came from and carries the date it was checked. Prices change; check the linked page before you buy.
What does Audience Intel cost?
The Insight Report and the Intel loop comparison are free. The paid plan, Team, is £195/mo after a £595 Foundation Month.
Loops, the recurring watches, are in build and are not on sale.
Read your site beside the rivals you lose to.
The free Insight Report reads your site beside the competitors you name. No account and no card to start.