Proxies in advertising serve as critical infrastructure for competitive intelligence gathering, allowing marketers to view geo-targeted campaigns, pricing strategies, and creative variations that competitors display to different audience segments across various locations without triggering detection systems that might otherwise block research activities. These intermediary services enable sophisticated ad verification processes by simulating user experiences from multiple geographic locations and device types, helping brands confirm that their advertisements appear correctly, in brand-safe environments, and to the intended audiences while identifying potential fraud or placement issues. Additionally, proxies facilitate essential technical marketing functions including SEO competitor analysis, automated data collection for market research, and performance testing across different server locations—all while maintaining anonymity and preventing IP-based restrictions that would otherwise limit access to valuable competitive intelligence.