MagicBrief Alternatives After the Shutdown (2026)

MagicBrief is gone, so teams that used it for competitor ad research need a new home. The right replacement depends on what you used it for: saving ads, researching competitors, or briefing creative.

(Proxy publishes this blog and is one of the alternatives. Prices come from the linked sources, checked October 2026, and can change.)

What happened to MagicBrief?

MagicBrief shut down on July 31, 2026, according to its own FAQ. Canva announced the acquisition in 2025, and MagicBrief's team and technology moved into Canva. Customers were offered six months of Canva Business as a transition, and the FAQ told teams to export their data before the deadline.

Is Canva Grow the replacement?

Not directly. MagicBrief's FAQ describes Canva Grow as a new product built on the same ideas, not a direct port. Canva's page describes Grow as a tool to create, publish and measure ads, and says it supports Meta, LinkedIn and TikTok.

That is ad creation and reporting on your own accounts. We found no competitor ad library or swipe file in Canva's description, so if you used MagicBrief to study other brands' ads, confirm the feature exists before you migrate. If it does, treat that as good news and use it alongside the tools below.

Which MagicBrief alternatives are worth trying?

Alternative	Best for	Platforms	Free option	Cheapest plan
Free ad libraries	One-off checks	One per library	Yes	Free
Proxy	Research inside ChatGPT or Claude	Meta, Google, LinkedIn, TikTok (EU)	20 credits/day	$50/mo
Foreplay	Saved boards and briefs	Meta, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn (per Foreplay)	See Foreplay's pricing page	about $59/mo
Atria	Creative teams wanting AI analysis	Meta and TikTok	7-day trial	about $159/mo, $129 billed annually
GetHookd	Creative production plus library	Meta-first	7-day trial	about $29/mo

The free ad libraries

The Meta Ad Library, Google Ads Transparency Center and LinkedIn Ad Library show any brand's live ads for free. You lose saved boards and transcripts, but for spot checks they cost nothing. Our guide on how to spy on competitors' ads covers each.

Foreplay

Foreplay is the closest match if you used MagicBrief to save ads, tag them and turn them into briefs. See Proxy vs Foreplay for an honest side-by-side.

Atria and GetHookd

Atria suits creative strategists who want AI analysis and benchmarking, at a higher price. GetHookd combines an ad library with production tools like script writing and ad cloning, with a lower entry price. Both are covered in our Foreplay alternatives guide.

Proxy

Proxy is a free MCP server that gives ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor and Codex live access to the Meta, Google, LinkedIn and TikTok (EU) ad libraries. You ask "What is Huel running on Meta and Google right now?" and get the ads and a summary in the chat, with video transcripts for competitor video ads.

• Better than MagicBrief was for: cross-platform research, a free tier, and no new dashboard.
• Worse for: saved boards and team swipe files. Proxy reads the libraries live and does not store them.

How do you choose?

• You saved ads and wrote briefs daily: Foreplay or Atria.
• You researched competitors weekly in an AI assistant: Proxy, plus the free libraries for spot checks.
• You need ads made and published, not just found: look at Canva Grow or GetHookd.

To try Proxy, connect it in about two minutes. For more MCP options, see the best ad library MCP servers.