Snapchat will show Sponsored Snaps and brand promotions in Maps tab soon

According to the note posted on the Snap's website, Sponsored Snaps from brands will appear in the chat inbox as a new Snap without a push notifications

Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, is introducing sponsored messages next to chat threads from friends on the platform. Snap’s CEO Evan Spiegel sent a note to employees talking about the 13 years journey of the company and changes that are coming to the platform in the upcoming months. 

Snap is exploring a simplified version of Snapchat to enhance accessibility and usability and to attract more users of older age as the platform is mainly popular among young people.

According to the note posted on the company’s website, sponsored Snaps from brands will appear in the chat inbox as a new Snap without push notifications. Opening of the message will be optional. There is no certainty about whether a user will be able to dismiss a Sponsored Snap without opening it or if that would even be possible. 

Additionally, Snap also plans to let advertisers promote places in its Map tab by paying. Map tab shows users the locations of their friends. 

“In addition to differentiated insights, we are also experimenting with two new ad placements: Sponsored Snaps and Promoted Places,” said the note.

This is the first time Snap will display ads in the app’s most popular section. Snapchat shows fewer ads compared to other social media platforms such as Instagram. Sponsored Snaps appears to be a way to increase revenue as the company's stock price is near an all-time low.

“Sponsored Snaps empower advertisers to communicate visually with the Snapchat community, making the core functionality of Snapchat accessible to advertisers.” the note added. 

In related news, Snapchat has introduced a generative artificial intelligence suite, which is part of the new Lens Studio 5.0 release. This on-device AI model will power the augmented reality (AR) experience for users.