What is MCP?
Connect AI tools directly to your ad accounts
Learn how the Model Context Protocol (MCP) lets AI tools like Claude, Cursor, and ChatGPT manage your Google Ads and Meta Ads directly.
This section is for developers
This page is aimed at developers and technical users who want to connect AI tools to their ad accounts via API. If you just want to use the AdWhiz dashboard to manage your ads, you can safely skip this section β everything you need is in the dashboard!
What is MCP?#
MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. Think of it as a universal translator that lets AI tools talk directly to your Google Ads and Meta Ads accounts.
Without MCP, you manage your ads by clicking buttons in a dashboard. With MCP, you can type natural-language commands into your favorite AI tool, and the AI does the work for you. For example, you could say:
- "Pause all campaigns with CPA over $50"
- "Show me my top 5 keywords by conversions this month"
- "Create a new ad group for summer sale keywords"
- "What percentage of my budget was wasted last week?"
The AI tool understands your request, calls the right AdWhiz tools behind the scenes, and gives you the answer or confirms the action. It's like having an advertising assistant that speaks plain English.
Want to learn more about MCP as a technology? See our glossary entry on Model Context Protocol.
What can you do with MCP?#
AdWhiz's MCP server exposes 99 tools that cover nearly everything you can do in the Google Ads and Meta Ads dashboards β and more. Here are the main categories:
- **Ask questions about your campaigns in plain English** β get performance data, cost breakdowns, and trend analysis just by asking
- **Create, pause, or update campaigns** β launch new campaigns, pause underperformers, or adjust settings using AI tools
- **Run audits and get recommendations** β trigger a full audit and receive prioritized action items
- **Manage keywords, bids, and budgets** β add or remove keywords, adjust bids, and reallocate budget across campaigns
- **Automate repetitive optimization tasks** β build workflows that regularly check performance and make adjustments automatically
Supported AI tools#
Any AI tool that supports the MCP standard can connect to AdWhiz. Here are the ones we've tested and confirmed:
Claude Code
Anthropic's terminal-based AI assistant. Run ad management commands directly from your terminal. Great for developers who live in the command line.
Cursor
An AI-powered code editor with built-in MCP support. Manage your ads while you code β useful for indie developers who build and advertise their own products.
Windsurf
Codeium's AI editor with native MCP integration. Works just like Cursor β add AdWhiz as an MCP server in your settings and start managing ads.
OpenClaw
A zero-config MCP plugin marketplace. Install AdWhiz with one command and it auto-connects to any compatible AI tool on your machine.
And many more
Continue.dev, Cline, Zed, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot β any tool that speaks MCP can connect to AdWhiz. The list grows every week.
99 tools for Google Ads and Meta Ads
AdWhiz exposes 99 tools in total: 70 for Google Ads and 29 for Meta Ads. All tools work with any MCP-compatible AI client. You can read, write, audit, and optimize β everything from listing campaigns to uploading ad creatives.
How it works under the hood#
When you connect an AI tool to AdWhiz via MCP, here's what happens behind the scenes:
You type a command in your AI tool
For example: "Show me all campaigns that spent more than $100 today."
The AI tool picks the right AdWhiz tool to call
Your AI figures out that it needs to call the "list_campaigns" tool with a spend filter. You don't need to know the tool name β the AI handles that.
AdWhiz talks to Google Ads or Meta Ads
The AdWhiz MCP server securely connects to your ad account, fetches the data, and sends it back to the AI tool.
The AI tool shows you the results
The AI formats the response in a way that's easy to read β like a table of campaigns with their spend, conversions, and CPA.
Is it safe?#
Yes. AdWhiz takes security seriously. Here's how your data stays safe:
- **OAuth 2.0 authentication** β you sign in with Google or use an API key. No passwords are stored.
- **PKCE protection** β an extra security layer that prevents attackers from intercepting your login.
- **Read vs. write separation** β read-only queries (like listing campaigns) never modify your account. Write operations (like pausing a campaign) always show you what will change before doing it.
- **All mutations are logged** β every change made through MCP is recorded so you can audit it later.
- **Token expiration** β access tokens expire after 1 hour. Refresh tokens expire after 30 days.
Ready to connect?
Head to the MCP Quick Start guide to connect your first AI tool in under 5 minutes.