# Microsoft Ad Library Lookup: Is This Company Advertising (`accountable_eel/microsoft-ads-presence-lookup`) Actor

Microsoft ad library checker: is this company running bing ads in the EU? Microsoft advertiser lookup EU by company name. One row per company: ads in the queried market, sample titles. Misses are free.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/accountable\_eel/microsoft-ads-presence-lookup.md
- **Developed by:** [Adrian Voss](https://apify.com/accountable_eel) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Marketing
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $9.12 / 1,000 advertiser founds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Microsoft Ad Library Lookup: Is This Company Advertising

**Paste a list of company or brand names. Get back one row per company telling you whether it is advertising on Microsoft Advertising (Bing) in an EU/EEA market, with the ad count Microsoft itself reports and a handful of sample titles.** Data comes straight from Microsoft's own [Ad Library](https://adlibrary.ads.microsoft.com/), the EU DSA public register of ads served on Microsoft Advertising.

### Who it's for

- **Outbound and RevOps teams** enriching a lead list: "is this company running Bing ads?" is a budget-and-intent signal you can filter on in Clay, n8n, or a spreadsheet.
- **Agencies prospecting for ad clients**: find companies that are already advertising on Microsoft Advertising (they have budget) or not yet advertising in the EU (they need you).
- **Competitor and market analysts** who want a quick per-company read — active Microsoft ad program in a given EU market or not, how many ads, which titles — without scraping thousands of creatives.
- **AI agents** that need a single structured answer per company, callable over plain HTTP.

### Why this one

Every other Microsoft Ads actor on Apify is a **bulk creative scraper**: you give it a query, it downloads individual ads, and you pay per ad. Fine for building a creative-intelligence archive; the wrong tool for enriching a 5,000-row lead list, where you'd pay for hundreds of ads from one company just to learn "yes, they advertise."

This actor asks the opposite question: **one input company → one output row**, sized and priced as an enrichment column, matching the same approach as this portfolio's [LinkedIn Ads Presence Lookup](https://apify.com/accountable_eel/linkedin-ads-presence-lookup) and [Google Ads Presence Lookup](https://apify.com/accountable_eel/google-ads-presence-lookup).

- **One row per company**, not one per ad. Predictable output, predictable cost.
- **Never charged for a miss.** A company with no advertiser match, or a match with zero ads in the market you queried, costs you nothing.
- **Name match only — and that's honest, not hidden.** Microsoft's Advertisers search has no domain filter. Paste the brand or legal name, not `nike.com`.
- **Match confidence on every hit.** Exact name, verified advertiser, or a fuzzy top result — you can tell which one you got.

### Coverage

This reads Microsoft's own EU DSA ad repository, so only ads served in the EU/EEA to the market you query are visible. A US-only Bing advertiser will never show here, and that is the repository's own scope, not a bug.

### What you get

One dataset row per input, with these columns (all included by default; select fewer with the `columns` input):

| Column | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| `advertiserId` | Microsoft's advertiser id for the matched account |
| `advertiserName` | Advertiser name as Microsoft lists it |
| `advertiserCountry` | Country Microsoft has on the advertiser |
| `isVerified` | Whether Microsoft marks the advertiser as verified |
| `adCountInMarket` | Ads in the queried EU/EEA market (`@odata.count` from the Ads call) |
| `sampleAdTitles` | Up to `maxAdsPerCompany` titles (default 5). A sample, not a dump. |
| `sampleDestinationUrl` | Destination URL from the first sample ad (never an internal ad id) |
| `market` | The two-letter market you queried |
| `matchConfidence` | `exact`, `verified`, or `fuzzy` |

A miss comes back as `"found": false` and is never charged.

### How to use Microsoft Ad Library Lookup: Is This Company Advertising

1. **In the Apify Console.** Open the actor page and click **Start** — the `items` field is already pre-filled with a working example. Results land in the run's dataset as soon as each item is found.
2. **Via the API.** Call it directly with a POST request — no Console needed once you have an API token:
   ```bash
   curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~microsoft-ads-presence-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>" \
     -X POST \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"items":["Nike","Adidas"]}'
   ```
3. **On a schedule.** Save this actor as an Apify **Task** with the input you want, then add a **Schedule** (hourly, daily, weekly) so it runs on its own — no server of your own required.

### Input

```json
{
  "items": [
    "Nike",
    "Adidas"
  ]
}
```

One company or brand name per line. Microsoft's Ad Library matches by advertiser name only — there is no domain search. Paste the name as it appears on the ads. Accepted formats: Nike, Adidas, Samsung.

### Sample output

| query | found | status | advertiserId | advertiserName | advertiserCountry | isVerified | adCountInMarket | sampleAdTitles | sampleDestinationUrl | market | matchConfidence | scrapedAt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nike | true | OK | <advertiser id> | <advertiser> | <advertiser country> | \<verified advertiser?> | <ads in this market> | <sample ad titles> | <sample destination url> | <market> | <match confidence> | 1970-01-01T00:00:00.000Z |

### Example runs

Three inputs that return real rows, with no key or account of your own. Each one is a keyless prefill.

**1. Check whether Nike and Adidas advertise on Microsoft Advertising in Germany.**

```json
{
  "items": ["Nike", "Adidas"],
  "market": "DE"
}
```

**2. Same list, hide the misses** so a Clay or n8n step only keeps companies that are actually running ads.

```json
{
  "items": ["Nike", "Adidas"],
  "market": "DE",
  "onlyFound": true
}
```

**3. Single-company enrichment column** — the shape a prospecting workflow maps one name into.

```json
{
  "items": ["Nike"],
  "market": "DE"
}
```

### Pricing

$12 per 1,000 companies or brands, plus a $0.00005 start fee. Misses (`found:false`) are never charged.

A search with zero advertiser matches, or a matched advertiser with zero ads in that market, is never charged.

### Use it from Clay, n8n, Make, or an AI agent

This actor runs synchronously over plain HTTP — call it directly from a script, a workflow tool, or an AI agent, no Apify Console needed once you have an API token.

```bash
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~microsoft-ads-presence-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>" \
  -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"items":["Nike","Adidas"]}'
```

**n8n.** Add an HTTP Request node: Method `POST`, URL `https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~microsoft-ads-presence-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>`, Body Content Type `JSON`, JSON Body `{"items":["Nike","Adidas"]}` (swap in an expression from an earlier node for a real value).

**Clay.** Add an "HTTP API" column: Method `POST`, URL `https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~microsoft-ads-presence-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>`, Body `{"items":["{{company or brand}}"]}`, mapping the row's company or brand into the `items` array.

**MCP.** In Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client with the Apify MCP server, ask for "microsoft ads library checker by company name" — the agent will find and run this actor.

### Tips

- **Use the advertiser name, not a domain.** `nike.com` will likely miss. `Nike` or `Nike - EMEA` matches.
- **`matchConfidence` tells you how the name was resolved.** `exact` is a case-insensitive name match, `verified` is Microsoft's verified advertiser, `fuzzy` is the top remaining result. If several companies look plausible and none is exact or verified, you still get the top result, with `fuzzy` so you can decide.
- **Pick the market that matches the ads you care about.** Default is Germany (`DE`). Ads shown only in France will not appear on a `DE` run.
- **`adCountInMarket` is Microsoft's own count** for that market, not the length of the sample. The sample is capped at `maxAdsPerCompany` (default 5).
- **A US-only advertiser is a miss here.** See Coverage.

### FAQ

**What does "no ads found" (`found: false`) actually mean?**
Either no advertiser matched that name in Microsoft's Ad Library, or the matched advertiser has zero ads in the market you queried. It is never charged.

**Can I search by domain?**
No. Microsoft's Advertisers search is name-only. Use the brand or company name.

**Does this download the actual ad creatives?**
No. You get a sample of titles and one destination URL. If you need every creative's media, use a bulk creative scraper; this actor is the cheap per-company presence check.

**Is this legal?**
The Ad Library is Microsoft's own public EU DSA transparency register. This actor reads only that public data — no login, no personal data.

### Related actors

- [LinkedIn Ads Presence Lookup](https://apify.com/accountable_eel/linkedin-ads-presence-lookup) — the same enrichment-column approach for LinkedIn Ads.
- [Google Ads Presence Lookup](https://apify.com/accountable_eel/google-ads-presence-lookup) — the same approach for Google Ads, with domain matching.
- [Meta Ads Presence Lookup](https://apify.com/accountable_eel/meta-ads-presence-lookup) — the same approach for Meta/Facebook/Instagram ads.

If this saved you a scrape, a rating on the Store page helps other buyers find it.

# Actor input Schema

## `items` (type: `array`):

One company or brand name per line. Microsoft's Ad Library matches by advertiser name only — there is no domain search. Paste the name as it appears on the ads. Accepted formats: Nike, Adidas, Samsung. You're only charged for the ones we actually find — a miss costs nothing.

## `market` (type: `string`):

Two-letter country code for the EU/EEA market whose ads you want to see. Microsoft's Ad Library is the EU DSA repository, so only ads served in that market are visible. Default Germany (DE).

## `testRun` (type: `boolean`):

Turn this on to test your input on a small sample before running the full list. Turn it off to process everything.

## `onlyFound` (type: `boolean`):

Only keep rows where something was actually found. Misses are always free, whether or not you show them here.

## `includeKeywords` (type: `array`):

Optional. Only keep results that mention at least one of these words (e.g. a job title, a city, a product name). Leave empty to keep everything.

## `excludeKeywords` (type: `array`):

Optional. Drop any result that mentions one of these words. Leave empty to skip nothing.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Optional. Stop the run once this many results have been found — useful for a quick, cheap sample. Leave blank for no limit.

## `maxAdsPerCompany` (type: `integer`):

How many sample ad titles to return per company. Default 5. This is a sample of titles, not a dump of every ad.

## `columns` (type: `array`):

Choose which pieces of information to include in each result row. All are included by default.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

Parallel requests. Keep conservative — this target has no browser fallback, so getting blocked costs more than slow-and-steady.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Apify Proxy config. Residential recommended for anti-bot-sensitive targets.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "items": [
    "Nike",
    "Adidas"
  ],
  "market": "DE",
  "testRun": false,
  "onlyFound": false,
  "includeKeywords": [],
  "excludeKeywords": [],
  "maxAdsPerCompany": 5,
  "columns": [
    "advertiserId",
    "advertiserName",
    "advertiserCountry",
    "isVerified",
    "adCountInMarket",
    "sampleAdTitles",
    "sampleDestinationUrl",
    "market",
    "matchConfidence"
  ],
  "maxConcurrency": 5,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "items": [
        "Nike",
        "Adidas"
    ],
    "includeKeywords": [],
    "excludeKeywords": []
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("accountable_eel/microsoft-ads-presence-lookup").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "items": [
        "Nike",
        "Adidas",
    ],
    "includeKeywords": [],
    "excludeKeywords": [],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("accountable_eel/microsoft-ads-presence-lookup").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "items": [
    "Nike",
    "Adidas"
  ],
  "includeKeywords": [],
  "excludeKeywords": []
}' |
apify call accountable_eel/microsoft-ads-presence-lookup --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,accountable_eel/microsoft-ads-presence-lookup"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/2hzCddKVaz6V2157j/builds/xTsCl176fFNGwaIIq/openapi.json