• Ads move into chat through interactive AI agents
• Early trials with financial partners bring content directly into conversations

Snapchat is expanding its presence in AI-powered advertising by rolling out a new format that integrates directly into user conversations. The feature, called “AI Sponsored Snaps,” allows brands to interact with users through AI agents embedded inside the chat interface.

The move reflects a broader shift toward making messaging environments a central part of the digital experience, as the platform aims to blend ads more naturally into everyday communication rather than presenting them as separate or intrusive elements.

According to company data, users sent more than 950 billion chat messages in the first quarter of 2026, while over 500 million users have interacted with the “My AI” chatbot since its launch, highlighting the rapid adoption of AI features within the app.

Snapchat places chat at the core of its user experience, both for communication and content discovery. The new ads will appear directly within conversations, where users already spend most of their time on the platform.

The feature allows users to interact with AI agents to ask questions, explore products, and receive personalized recommendations without leaving the chat window, which the company says improves usability and boosts engagement.

Snap believes conversational AI will reshape how brands connect with audiences, arguing that in-chat interactions are more direct and better at capturing purchase intent than traditional advertising formats.

Ajit Mohan, the company’s Chief Business Officer, said conversations have become “the most valuable space in advertising,” adding that AI is accelerating the shift by turning chat into a real-time environment for discovery, questions, and decision-making.

He noted that the opportunity goes beyond simply placing ads inside this space, and instead lies in designing experiences that match the natural flow of conversation, making them more seamless and realistic.

The new format builds on Snapchat’s earlier “Sponsored Snaps” ad product, which delivered higher conversion rates and lower cost per outcome, according to the company, while the new version adds a layer of real-time AI interaction.

Snapchat also allows brands to deploy their own AI agents on the platform, enabling them to guide users from discovery to purchase within a single conversation — a full marketing journey inside one interface.

The company says this gives advertisers access to nearly one billion monthly active users, with the ability to scale and personalize interactions.

In its early rollout phase, Snapchat is partnering with Experian to deliver financial education content through chat, allowing users to ask questions about credit and money management directly within conversations.

The initiative aims to provide financial information in a simplified and more natural format, embedded within everyday interactions rather than traditional channels.

Snapchat plans to gradually expand the feature as more brands test AI-driven engagement, betting that conversational interfaces will become a key future channel for advertising, discovery, and decision-making.