Snapchat introduced “AI Sponsored Snaps,” a new ad format that enables users to converse directly with brands’ artificial‑intelligence agents. The feature, announced on Tuesday, embeds interactive ads within the app’s main Chat tab, allowing users to ask questions, receive product recommendations and perform other real‑time interactions that were not possible with previous Sponsored Snaps.
The rollout follows a period of rapid adoption of Snapchat’s own AI chatbot, which the company says has been used by more than 500 million users since its launch in 2023. In a blog post, Snap’s Chief Business Officer Ajit Mohan highlighted the shift toward conversational spaces as valuable advertising real estate, noting that AI is accelerating the move of product discovery and decision‑making into chat environments.
For advertisers, AI Sponsored Snaps provide direct access to Snapchat’s nearly one‑billion monthly active users. Brands can deploy their own AI agents on the platform to drive engagement and facilitate purchases within the chat flow. Snap claims the new format builds on the performance of existing Sponsored Snaps, which already generate 22 % higher conversion rates and about 20 % lower cost per action compared with other ad products.
Snapchat reports that 85 % of its users regularly engage with the Chat feed, with more than 950 billion messages exchanged in the first quarter of 2026. Among teen users, 57 % send messages daily, and 40 % do so several times a day, underscoring the high activity level in the channel where the new ads will appear.
The company positions AI Sponsored Snaps as a means to deliver personalized, AI‑powered interactions that feel native to user conversations, rather than inserting traditional banner‑style advertisements. By integrating brand agents into the chat experience, Snapchat aims to turn conversations into a seamless point of product discovery and purchase.
The introduction of AI‑driven advertising marks another expansion of artificial‑intelligence capabilities within the Snapchat ecosystem, raising questions about user reception to increased commercial content in personal messaging spaces. As the format rolls out, its impact on user engagement and advertising effectiveness will be closely monitored by both the platform and marketers seeking to leverage conversational commerce.
