Facebook Ad Library Transcript

Why marketers transcribe Facebook ads

The Meta Ad Library is the largest public collection of active advertising in the world. Every brand running ads on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and the Audience Network shows up there, and anyone can browse it. For marketers, it's the best competitive research tool that exists: you can see which offers competitors are pushing, how they open their videos, which angles they're testing and how long they keep running the ads that work.

What the Ad Library doesn't give you is the script. To study a video ad properly you have to replay it, pause, type, replay again. Multiply that by the thirty ads a competitor is running and research becomes a day's work.

PullSubtitle turns a video ad into text in seconds. Paste the Ad Library link (or just the ad ID) and we return the spoken script along with the ad's context: the advertiser's Page, the primary text and headline, the call-to-action button, the platforms it runs on and when it started. Copy it into your swipe file, compare hooks across brands, or hand it to a copywriter as a reference.

How to get the transcript of a Facebook ad

1. Go to the Meta Ad Library and search for an advertiser or keyword.
2. Open an ad and click See ad details, or use the ad's menu to copy its link. The link contains ads/library and an id= number.
3. Paste the link into the box at the top of this page.
4. If the ad is longer than two minutes and you're on a paid plan, switch on Long-video AI.
5. Press Get transcript.
6. Copy the script or download it in your preferred format.

Image-only and carousel-image ads have no audio, so they'll return an empty result (and no credits used). Ads with several video cards return the speech from the video that's available.

Captions or AI: how the script is produced

Some advertisers upload captions with their video, and when they do, PullSubtitle returns them with their timings, which makes SRT and VTT exports line up exactly. Many ads don't include captions, in which case we automatically transcribe the audio with AI speech recognition.

Most ads are well under two minutes, and AI transcription up to that length is included in every plan for 1 credit. For longer brand films and VSL-style ads, switch on Long-video AI on Starter or Pro. It costs 3 credits per started minute of the ad, taken from your monthly credits (500 on Starter, 1,500 on Pro).

Every result is labelled Original captions or AI transcription, so you always know what you're looking at.

What to look for in a competitor's ad script

A transcript makes patterns easy to see. When you've collected scripts for a competitor or a category, look at:

• The first three seconds. How does the ad stop the scroll? A question, a bold claim, a problem statement, a demo?
• The offer. Discount, free trial, bundle, guarantee, free shipping? How early is it mentioned?
• Proof. Testimonials, numbers, before-and-after, expert quotes, press mentions.
• Objections handled. Price, difficulty, time, trust. Which ones does the script address?
• The call to action. What does the script ask viewers to do, and does it match the button?
• Length and pacing. How many words, how many seconds, and how quickly does it get to the point?

Because the Ad Library shows when each ad started, ads that have been running for months are usually the ones that are profitable. Prioritise transcribing those.

Ad details included

Each Ad Library result includes:

• Every plan: advertiser Page name, ad title or headline, primary text, thumbnail and start date.
• Paid plans: the call-to-action button text, the platforms the ad is placed on (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Audience Network), the end date if the ad has stopped, the Page's like count and all of this in your exports.

Exporting to Markdown gives you a ready-made swipe-file entry with the advertiser, copy, CTA, placements and script on one page. CSV is ideal for building a spreadsheet of many ads, and JSON suits teams that feed ad research into their own tools.

Building a swipe file at scale

Competitive research works best in volume. With a paid plan, switch on Batch and paste up to 10 (Starter) or 50 (Pro) Ad Library links, one per line. PullSubtitle works through them, shows which ones returned scripts, and lets you open and export each one.

A practical routine for performance teams:

1. Every Monday, search the Ad Library for your top five competitors.
2. Copy links for any new video ads and any long-running ones you haven't captured.
3. Run them through batch mode and export Markdown into a shared folder or Notion database.
4. Tag each script by hook type, offer and angle.
5. Bring the three most interesting patterns to your next creative brainstorm.

Your free credits are enough to test the workflow on a handful of ads; Starter or Pro make sense once competitive research is part of your weekly process.

Turning ad scripts into better creative briefs

Transcripts are most valuable when they change what you make next. Once you've collected a set of scripts, turn them into a brief your team can act on:

• List the hooks that appear in long-running ads and group them by type: question, bold claim, problem, demo, testimonial, "POV" scenario.
• Note the structure of the strongest scripts. Many follow a hook, problem, solution, proof, offer, call-to-action pattern; others lead with the offer.
• Write down the language customers would use. Ad scripts that quote reviews often reveal the exact words buyers use to describe the problem.
• Spot the gaps. If every competitor talks about price, there may be room for an ad about quality, speed or support.
• Draft three original hooks inspired by the patterns, not copied from any single ad, and test them.

Keep the brief alongside the exported Markdown scripts so designers, editors and copywriters can see the evidence behind each recommendation.

Using ad scripts responsibly

Ad scripts are the creative work of the advertiser and their agency. Use transcripts to learn: identify patterns, understand the market, and get inspiration for your own original ads. Don't copy another brand's script word for word, and avoid reusing their trademarks or specific claims.

PullSubtitle doesn't use your Facebook or Meta Business account, and advertisers aren't notified. We don't keep the video file. If you're signed in, transcripts stay in your private history for your plan's retention period and can be deleted at any time.