# Quick start

> **Title:** Quick start — Rival Ads Docs
> **Description:** Create a workspace, add the first competitor, review ad activity and invite a teammate.
> **Canonical URL:** https://www.rivalads.io/docs/quick-start
> **Note:** This is the markdown twin of https://www.rivalads.io/docs/quick-start. Append `.md` to any Rival Ads page URL to get markdown.

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This guide takes a new workspace from sign-up to useful competitor ad data.

## 1. Create the account and workspace

1. [Sign up](/sign-up) with your work email.
2. Use the verification message in your inbox.
3. Enter the workspace name. An agency normally uses its agency name; an in-house team normally uses the company name.
4. Add a competitor during onboarding.
5. Choose a plan. Subscription plans begin with the first month free.

The first competitor starts fetching after plan setup. Results normally begin to appear within a minute or two, although a public source can occasionally take longer.

## 2. Add another competitor

From **Monitors**, select **Add competitor**. The **Track a competitor** dialog starts with **Competitor website**.

Enter a normal website such as `example.com`. Rival Ads tries to find its Meta and Google presence. Confirm the **Competitor name**, **Project**, **Locations to monitor** and **Channels to track**, then select **Start tracking** or **Start tracking all**.

Each selected channel creates one monitor and uses one plan slot. For every field and channel-specific example, see [Add a competitor](/docs/add-competitor).

## 3. Review the first results

Open the competitor from **Monitors** and stay on **Ads**:

1. Under **Ad activity**, choose **Day**, **Week** or **Month**.
2. Choose **Gallery** for visual browsing, **Board** for Started/Stopped/Continued columns, or **Table** for a compact comparison.
3. Use **Location**, **Status**, **Ad type** or **Angle** to narrow the results.
4. Select **Save** on a useful ad to add it to **Library**.
5. Select **Intelligence** to see creative details when they are ready.

The first source check establishes the baseline. Later checks reveal what started, stopped or continued.

## 4. Check Reporting

Select **Reporting** on the monitor. The panel shows when the first **AI strategy read** is scheduled for the plan. Once a read is complete, owners and admins can use **Download PDF report** or enable a **Public report link**.

## 5. Set up email

Owners and admins can open **Alerts**:

- **Instant new-ad alerts** can be turned on or off per monitor.
- **Weekly digest** is always on for members who can see at least one relevant monitor.
- First source checks do not send instant alerts because every ad would appear new.

## 6. Invite a teammate or client

1. Open **Team**.
2. Select **Invite teammate**.
3. Choose Admin for full workspace access or Member for scoped access.
4. For a Member, select **Access** and grant **Whole project**, **Specific monitors** or **All projects — current & future**.

For a client-safe example, follow [Manage client access](/docs/manage-access).

## Next steps

- Create one project per client or brand: [Monitors & projects](/docs/monitors).
- Learn what differs by source: [Supported channels](/docs/channels).
- Build a team swipe file: [Build a swipe file](/docs/organize-library).
- Apply an agency brand: [Whitelabel & custom domains](/docs/whitelabel).