Apple announced on Tuesday that it plans to introduce paid ads to its Maps service in the U.S. and Canada this summer. This move marks Apple’s entry into a business that has long been dominated by Google.
Apple Maps, an app that comes pre-installed on hundreds of millions of iPhones and other devices each year, will now display paid advertisements on top of its regular search results. Businesses will be able to claim their physical locations through a set of business tools, which Apple also said it plans to update next month.
Apple didn’t say how much money it expects to make from this new service, or how many of its 2.5 billion active devices regularly use its Maps.
“The introduction of ads in Apple Maps could be a new opportunity for Apple’s services business,” said Gil Luria, an analyst at D.A. Davidson. “Apple gets a lot of its growth and profits from services, and this could add another layer of growth.”
However, this move puts Apple, which has always tried to stand out from rivals by emphasizing its strong data privacy controls, into more direct competition with both Google and Meta Platforms for local advertising money.
Apple stated that its new map ads will still follow its privacy rules. A user’s location and the ads they see and interact with will not be connected to their Apple account. The company also said that “personal data” stays on a user’s device, is not collected or stored by Apple, and is not shared with other companies.
This decision comes at a time when some of Apple’s biggest money-makers are facing pressure. These include the commissions it takes from app developers’ subscriptions and the billions of dollars Google pays Apple each year to send search traffic to Google. Both of these are under regulatory scrutiny in Europe and threatened by new AI technology that reduces the need for traditional search.
The move could also increase scrutiny on Apple’s efforts to stop rivals like Meta from collecting data on Apple users. Meta and European publishers have complained about this on antitrust grounds, especially as Apple expands its own advertising business.
Besides map advertising, Apple also said it plans to improve its business tools. These tools will make it easier for businesses to set up and give Apple devices to employees without needing special technical skills. Among other changes, Apple plans to make a device management tool that was previously paid, now free.
