Snapchat is rolling out "AI Sponsored Snaps," a new ad format that lets users chat directly with brands' AI agents, the company announced Tuesday, April 28, 2026. Sponsored Snaps already sit inside the app's main Chat tab; until now users could not interact with them. With the upgrade, they can ask questions and get product recommendations inside the ad itself.

Snap frames the move as a response to how its users already behave. Over half a billion users have messaged Snap's own AI chatbot since it launched in 2023, and the company says in its announcement blog post that its "community isn't just open to AI in conversation, they're already embracing it."

What do brands get?

The format gives advertisers direct access to Snapchat's nearly one billion monthly active users. Brands can bring their own AI agents onto the platform to run personalized interactions — question-and-answer, recommendations, and purchase prompts — inside the Chat feed where conversations already happen.

The pitch comes with performance numbers attached. Snapchat says Sponsored Snaps already deliver:

• 22% more conversions
• nearly 20% lower cost per action
• 85% of users engaging regularly in the Chat feed
• over 950 billion chats sent in Q1 2026 alone

The teen segment is particularly active: 57% of teenage Snapchat users message others daily, and four in 10 do so several times a day.

Who is behind the push?

"Conversation is becoming the most valuable real estate in advertising," said Ajit Mohan, chief business officer at Snap, in the blog post. "AI is accelerating that shift, turning chat into the place where people discover products, ask questions, and make decisions in real time. The real opportunity isn't just putting ads into those environments, it's designing formats that feel native to how people already talk."

Will users accept it?

Not automatically. The launch pushes AI into yet another corner of the Snapchat experience, and not every user wants more advanced advertising in their chat inbox. Snap's counterargument rests on volume: if half a billion people already talk to its chatbot, conversation-style ads should feel familiar rather than intrusive.

For advertisers, the calculation is simpler. If Sponsored Snaps already convert at 22% above baseline at a lower cost per action, an interactive AI layer is a test of whether conversation itself can close the sale. The company has not published separate conversion figures for the AI variant yet.

Snap has not disclosed launch partners or pricing details for the new format.