Google's official Google Ads MCP server

Which Google searches cost me money and never convert?

Google publishes an MCP server for its Ads API on GitHub. It is read-only: it can query all of your Google Ads account but cannot pause or change anything, which makes it a safe place to start. In exchange, setup is technical and it runs on your own computer.

What you need

A Google Ads manager account (MCC), which is where the developer token is requested.
A Google Cloud project with the Google Ads API enabled.
Python with pipx installed on your computer.
Claude Desktop or Claude Code, because the server runs on your computer.

How to connect it

In your Google Ads manager account, open Tools > API Center and request your developer token.
In Google Cloud, create a project, enable the Google Ads API and generate credentials. Keep the path to the JSON file.
Install pipx if you do not have it. It downloads and runs the server for you.

Add the server to your AI client's configuration, with your three values in place of the uppercase text:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-ads-mcp": {
      "command": "pipx",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--spec",
        "git+https://github.com/googleads/google-ads-mcp.git",
        "google-ads-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS": "PATH_TO_CREDENTIALS_JSON",
        "GOOGLE_PROJECT_ID": "YOUR_PROJECT_ID",
        "GOOGLE_ADS_DEVELOPER_TOKEN": "YOUR_DEVELOPER_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude and first ask it to list the accounts it can access, to confirm it is working.

What to ask it

Copy them as they are. They work best with concrete dates and numbers.

Which search terms spent more than $500 in the last 30 days with zero conversions? Give me the term, the campaign and the spend.
Give me cost per conversion for each campaign this month against last month, and flag the ones that got more than 20% worse.
Split my search terms into those that include my brand name and those that do not. How much did I spend on each group?

What it will not tell you

The conversions are the ones Google credits to itself, with its own window and model, so they are usually more than your store's sales. And Shopping and Performance Max do not use keywords: in those campaigns you will not see which search each sale came from, because Google does not report it.

To understand it better

Why Google Ads reports more conversions than your store

What you need

How to connect it

What to ask it

What it will not tell you

Before you believe the AI, check it against your orders.