By Ira Bodnar, Ryze AI · Updated · Steps re-tested on claude.ai, Claude Desktop and Claude Code
Quick answer
Claude has no built-in Google Ads integration. You connect it through an MCP connector: sign in to Google Ads inside Ryze AI, paste https://connector.get-ryze.ai/mcp into Claude's Add custom connector dialog, click Connect and start a new chat. Two minutes, no developer token, no code. The same connector also works in Claude Desktop, Claude Code and ChatGPT, and covers Meta Ads, GA4 and Search Console.
- Free Ryze AI account, Google sign-in on Google Ads
- Settings, Connectors, Add custom connector in Claude
- Paste the URL, Add, Connect, Allow
- New chat, ask your first question
Before you start
- A Claude account. Custom connectors are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise; Free is limited to one custom connector. On Team and Enterprise an organization owner adds the connector first.
- Access to the Google Ads account. Standard or admin access on the account, or on the manager (MCC) account above it. You sign in with Google; no API developer token is involved.
- A free Ryze AI workspace. This is where Google Ads is authorized and where write approvals live. Connecting is free; you only pay if you switch on Paid Ads Autopilot later.
How to connect Claude to Google Ads in claude.ai
Six clicks in two apps. Screenshots are from a real account; the connector URL is the same for every user.
Create a free Ryze AI account and connect Google Ads
Sign up at get-ryze.ai, open the workspace and click Connect on Google Ads. You will see the standard Google sign-in screen; choose the account and click Allow. Manager (MCC) accounts are picked up with every client account underneath. No developer token and no Google Cloud project are needed.
Copy the connector URL
On the Ryze home screen the connector address is shown under Connect Claude to your marketing data. It is the same for everyone: https://connector.get-ryze.ai/mcp. Click Copy link.
Open Connectors in Claude
In claude.ai click your initials in the bottom-left corner, open Settings, then Connectors. Newer builds show a Customize page instead; Connectors is the second tab there. Click Add custom connector.
Paste the URL and add the connector
Name it Ryze AI, paste https://connector.get-ryze.ai/mcp into the Remote MCP server URL field and click Add. Leave Advanced settings empty; there is no client ID or secret to enter.
Click Connect and authorize
The connector appears in your list with a Connect button. Click it, sign in to Ryze, pick the workspace that holds your Google Ads account and click Allow. Claude now lists the Google Ads tools under the connector.
Start a new chat and ask your first question
Connectors only appear in chats started after you add them, so open a new chat. Ask: Which search terms spent more than $100 with zero conversions in the last 30 days? Claude pulls the answer from your live account.
Prefer to skip the copy-paste? The Ryze AI listing in the Claude directory adds the same connector with one click. Either way, the connector FAQ covers every error message we have seen.
Claude Desktop
Connectors belong to your Claude account, not the device, so anything you add on claude.ai is already there in the desktop app. To add it from the app instead: click your name in the bottom-left corner, open Settings, choose Connectors, click Add custom connector, paste the URL and click Add, then Connect. The desktop app also has a separate Developer section for local MCP servers configured in claude_desktop_config.json; you do not need it for a hosted connector.
Claude Code
Claude Code reads MCP servers from the command line. One command registers the connector for every project on your machine:
claude mcp add --transport http ryze https://connector.get-ryze.ai/mcp --scope userThen open Claude Code, type /mcp, pick ryze and finish the sign-in in the browser tab that opens. Use --scope project instead if the whole team should get it from a shared .mcp.json. claude mcp list confirms the server is connected. Cursor and ChatGPT take the same URL; see the Google Ads MCP page for those clients.
What Claude Code adds over the chat apps: it can write the audit to a file, schedule it with a cron loop, and combine the Google Ads tools with your codebase, for example generating landing-page changes from search-term data. The Claude Code marketing workflows guide has worked examples.
Ryze connector vs Google’s official Google Ads MCP vs CSV upload
Three ways exist to get Google Ads data in front of Claude. They differ on setup, freshness and whether Claude can act.
| Method | Setup | Read / write | Works in | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryze AI connector (hosted MCP) | Google sign-in, paste one URL. About 2 minutes. | 14 Google Ads tools: 8 read including raw GAQL and Keyword Planner, 6 approval-gated writes | claude.ai, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Cursor | Marketers and agencies who want to analyze and fix accounts from chat |
| Google’s official Google Ads MCP (open source) | Python and pipx locally, your own developer token, OAuth client ID and secret | Read-only: search, get_resource_metadata, list_accessible_customers | Claude Desktop and Claude Code via local config; not claude.ai web | Developers with API access who want to self-host and only read |
| CSV export uploaded to the chat | Download a report from Google Ads, attach the file | Read-only, frozen at export time | Any Claude surface | One-off analysis when you cannot authorize a connector |
Google’s server is a good fit if you already hold a developer token with Explorer access and only need queries. It has no write tools, so pausing a campaign still means opening the Google Ads UI. The developer comparison of Google Ads MCP servers covers the self-hosted options in more depth, and the 7 Claude connectors for Google Ads compared ranks the hosted ones.
Alternative: upload a Google Ads CSV to Claude
When you cannot authorize a connector, a manual export still gets you a useful first audit.
- In Google Ads open Campaigns, Keywords or Search terms and set the date range to the last 30 days.
- Add the columns you need: cost, clicks, conversions, conversion value, impression share lost to budget and rank.
- Click the Download icon and choose .csv. For manager accounts export one client at a time.
- In Claude click the plus button in the chat box, attach the file and ask: Find search terms with over $50 spend and no conversions, group them into negative keyword themes.
Limits: the data is stale as soon as you export, files over a few thousand rows get truncated, and Claude cannot apply anything back to the account. Use it to decide whether the live connection is worth the two minutes.
First prompts to run once Claude is connected
Copy these as written. Each one maps to a tool the connector exposes, so Claude answers from account data rather than guessing.
Agency and freelancer
- List every client account under my manager account with 7-day spend, conversions and CPA, sorted by biggest CPA change versus the prior 7 days.
- For the Acme account, find search terms with over $50 spend and zero conversions in the last 30 days and draft them as a negative keyword list grouped by theme.
- Write a client-ready summary of last month: spend, conversions, CPA, top three wins, top three problems, and what we change next month.
B2B and lead gen
- Which campaigns are limited by budget right now, and how much impression share are we losing to budget versus rank?
- Break down cost per lead by keyword, device and hour of day for the last 30 days and tell me where the cheapest qualified leads come from.
- Check every conversion action: which ones fired in the last 7 days, which ones are counted as primary, and whether any duplicates inflate the totals.
Ecommerce
- Show ROAS by campaign for Shopping, Performance Max and Search over the last 30 days and flag any asset group under 1.0x ROAS.
- Find branded search terms leaking into non-brand Shopping campaigns and propose campaign-level brand negatives.
- Compare Google Ads and Meta Ads CPA for the last 14 days and estimate how much of the overlap is the same customer counted twice.
The Claude skills for Google Ads page turns the audits above into reusable skills, and the full account audit walkthrough shows the complete first-session flow.
Troubleshooting
- Connector missing from the chat
- Connectors only appear in chats started after they were added. Open a new chat. On Team and Enterprise plans an owner has to enable the connector in organization settings first.
- Authorization with the MCP server failed
- Remove the Ryze connector from Settings, Connectors, add it again with https://connector.get-ryze.ai/mcp and start a fresh chat. Connector URLs ending in run.app are retired.
- Claude cannot see my Google Ads data
- Check that Google Ads shows Connected in the Ryze workspace under Integrations, and that Claude is connected to that same workspace. Each authorization is tied to one workspace.
- A newly connected platform has no tools
- Claude caches the tool list when the connector is added. Remove and re-add the connector, then open a new chat.
- Numbers differ from the Google Ads UI
- Ask Claude which date range, time zone and conversion column it used. The API reports in the account time zone and counts all conversions unless you ask for primary only.
- Something went wrong, tap retry
- Retry once and start a new chat. If it persists, the Ryze workspace may have an overdue subscription or an empty credit balance.
Meta Ads, GA4 and the rest
The same connector URL covers Meta Ads, Google Analytics 4, Search Console, Shopify, TikTok Ads and more. Connect each platform once in the Ryze workspace and Claude can compare them in one chat. Meta has its own steps around Business Manager permissions, covered in how to connect Claude to Meta Ads and the Claude connectors for Meta Ads comparison.
Frequently asked questions
How do I connect Claude to Google Ads?
Create a free Ryze AI account, connect Google Ads with a Google sign-in, then in claude.ai open Settings, Connectors, Add custom connector and paste https://connector.get-ryze.ai/mcp. Click Connect, authorize, and start a new chat. The whole process takes about two minutes and needs no developer token or code.
Can Claude connect to Google Ads directly without a third-party tool?
Not out of the box. Claude has no built-in Google Ads connector, so you need an MCP server in between. Options are a hosted connector such as Ryze AI, Google's open-source Google Ads MCP that you run yourself with a developer token, or uploading CSV exports into the chat.
Which Claude plan do I need for a custom connector?
Anthropic's help center lists custom connectors as available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans, with Free limited to one custom connector. On Team and Enterprise an organization owner has to add the connector first, then each member clicks Connect. Checked September 2026.
Does this work in Claude Desktop and Claude Code as well as claude.ai?
Yes. Connectors are tied to your Claude account, so a connector added on claude.ai shows up in the Claude Desktop app too. Claude Code uses the command line: run claude mcp add --transport http ryze https://connector.get-ryze.ai/mcp --scope user, then type /mcp to authenticate in the browser.
What is the difference between the Ryze connector and Google's official Google Ads MCP?
Google's server on GitHub is read-only with three tools (search, get_resource_metadata, list_accessible_customers), runs locally in Python and needs your own developer token and OAuth client. The Ryze connector is hosted, needs only a Google sign-in, and exposes 14 Google Ads tools including approval-gated writes such as pausing campaigns and changing budgets.
Can Claude change my campaigns, or only read them?
Through the Ryze connector Claude can read everything and also propose changes: pause or enable campaigns, adjust budgets and bids, add negative keywords, apply or dismiss recommendations. Every write is held for your approval by default, so nothing changes in the account until you confirm it in the chat.
Is it safe to connect Claude to my Google Ads account?
Access is granted through Google OAuth, so you never share a password, and you can revoke it at any time from your Google account or the Ryze workspace. Read tools only fetch data. Write tools require approval before anything is applied. Claude's connector dialog also warns you to add only connectors from developers you trust.
Does the connector support Google Ads manager (MCC) accounts?
Yes. When you connect a manager account, Ryze picks up the client accounts beneath it and Claude can query any of them by name in one chat. For agencies that want separation, create one Ryze workspace per client and connect Claude to that workspace.
Why does the Ryze connector not show up in my chat?
Connectors are only available in conversations started after you add them. Open a new chat. If the tools still do not appear, remove the Ryze connector in Settings, Connectors, add it again with the current URL and start another new chat. Older connector URLs ending in run.app are retired.
Can I upload a Google Ads CSV to Claude instead of connecting?
Yes. In Google Ads open the campaigns, keywords or search terms report, click Download and choose CSV, then attach the file to a Claude chat with your question. It works for one-off analysis, but the data is stale the moment you export it and Claude cannot apply any change back to the account.
How much does it cost to connect Claude to Google Ads?
Connecting through Ryze AI is free; you pay only for your Claude plan. The paid-ads plan at $89 per month adds Paid Ads Autopilot, where Ryze runs approved optimizations for you on a schedule instead of waiting for you to ask in chat.
Can I connect Meta Ads, GA4 and other platforms in the same chat?
Yes. The same connector URL covers Google Ads, Meta Ads, Google Analytics 4, Search Console, Shopify, TikTok Ads and more. Connect each platform in the Ryze workspace once and Claude can compare them in one conversation, for example deduplicated CPA across Google and Meta.
What should I ask Claude first after connecting Google Ads?
Start with a wasted-spend audit: search terms with spend and no conversions, campaigns limited by budget, ad groups with low ad strength, and conversion actions that stopped firing. Then ask for a weekly summary prompt you can reuse every Monday. Both give you a concrete list of fixes in the first session.
