It seems it was only a matter of time: AI agents are now working as corporate promoters. On Tuesday, Snapchat launched “AI Sponsored Snaps,” a “new way for brands to show up in Chat through AI agents.” You could also call it conversational advertising.
These AI Sponsored Snaps will pop up in the app’s Chat tab. You’ll see a small, light gray “Ad” next to the brand’s name. Once you open the chat, you can ask the AI agent questions about the brand it represents. Snapchat showed an example with its first partner, Experian. The bot offers to answer your questions about saving money, boosting your credit score, and — here it comes — looking into loans and credit cards.
Whether it’s pushing credit card offers or other things, the AI agent will likely try to steer you toward actions that benefit the sponsor financially. So, it’s not clear why this would be better for consumers than just asking a general chatbot like Gemini or Claude the same questions. Maybe the simple answer is, “It’s not better… but they know people will use it anyway.”
“Conversation is becoming the most valuable space in advertising,” wrote Ajit Mohan, Snap’s Chief Business Officer, in a press release. “AI is speeding up that change, turning chat into a place where people find products, ask questions, and decide things right away. The real chance isn’t just putting ads there; it’s creating ad types that feel natural to how people already talk.”
Snap says over half a billion people have used its “My AI” feature since it launched three years ago. This happened despite a rocky start. The bot initially gave researchers and journalists, who pretended to be young teenagers, advice on how to hide the smell of alcohol or cannabis and how to create a mood for sex.
The introduction of AI Sponsored Snaps highlights the ongoing push by tech companies to find new ways to make money from AI. While Snap believes this offers a “native” advertising experience, some users might find it intrusive or less helpful than unbiased information sources. This new advertising format also raises questions about transparency and the potential for AI agents to subtly influence consumer choices. It will be interesting to see how users react to these new AI brand representatives.
