Smarter, Simpler, More Human: Snap’s New Era of Performance Advertising

This year, Snapchat was ranked the #2 preferred ad platform by consumers. ¹ It was proof of our continued efforts to make all aspects of Snapchat — including the way brands show up on our platform — centered around real human connection.

2025 in particular was marked by meaningful progress in translating human connection into real results for advertisers. We empowered brands to reach Snapchatters across the full platform and beyond. We rolled out Sponsored Snaps globally for brands to enter the chat, and it’s already driving meaningful outcomes for advertisers. We also built a suite of AI-powered ad products that make advertising on Snapchat smarter, simpler, and more intuitive – saving advertisers valuable time without sacrificing results.

As we close out the year, we’re sharing our latest ad product updates and looking ahead to what’s in store for 2026.

Performance, Made Smarter

Advertisers today need both performance and efficiency, and we’re delivering both through new automation tools that take the guesswork out of campaign management.

Earlier this year we launched Smart Campaign Solutions, a suite of solutions that deliver AI-powered performance and ease-of-use enhancements. At Newfronts, we introduced Smart Budgets to advertisers, saving time and increasing performance for advertisers of all sizes. Since then, we’ve expanded our Smart Campaign Solutions to make advertising on Snapchat even more efficient and high-performing for advertisers. This includes:

• Smart Ads: a powerful creative optimization feature that’s in early testing, which will find the right combination of image, video and text to drive performance.

• Smart Targeting: uses machine learning to identify and target additional high-value users on Snap based on targeting inputs. In Q3, this delivered an average 8.8% increase in conversions for adopted ad sets. ²

This is an area we will continue to invest heavily in next year, moving in the direction of a fully automated campaign creation suite. With advancements in AI powering us, we can make fast progress in this critical area.

Creativity, Simplified

Alongside performance gains, we’re reimagining how advertisers create. We’ve invested in technologies that make it simpler and faster to produce high-performing campaigns at scale, so advertisers spend more time on ideas and less on execution.

Earlier this year we launched Sponsored AI Lenses, powered by Snap’s proprietary Generative AI technology. This ad format generates personalized, AI-driven images that put Snapchatters at the center of unique brand moments, allowing them to express themselves while sharing their favorite brands with friends.

We’ve also recently introduced the Imagine Lens, our first Open Prompt Image Generation Lens. Snapchatters can create, edit, and recreate Snaps simply by entering their own prompts, then seamlessly share them with friends, post to their Story, or outside of Snapchat.

Going into 2026, we’ll continue investing in AI tools that will empower teams of any size to produce premium ad creatives.

Campaigns, Made More Human

We’re also improving how advertisers engage with Snapchatters on our platform, making their campaigns feel native to our community, not noisy.

Sponsored Snaps have proven to be one of the most effective ways for brands to join conversations with Snapchatters. A study with Kantar found that approximately 85% of Snapchatters feel that the ad format is "relevant to me", and "fit in with my habits on platform.” ³ In Q3, ASICS partnered with Zeno Group to promote its latest running shoe collection through Sponsored Snaps, reaching 2 million unique Snapchatters in the Chat Inbox, and eBay’s campaign achieved nearly 2x incremental unique reach. ⁴

We’ve also launched Reminder Ads, which tap into the very human experience of needing a nudge now and then to remember something important. With Reminder Ads, Snapchatters can set reminders from the ad and receive timely notifications for an event. Whether it be a movie, concert, product launch, etc., this ensures that Snapchatters never miss the moments that matter most to them and keeps them top of mind right up until the big day.

Looking Ahead to 2026

The innovations we’ve shipped this year represent a major step toward a more performant, AI-driven ad ecosystem. Next year, we’ll continue investing in performance, simplicity, and creativity in order to help advertisers drive real business results and build deeper connections with our community.

Brands can expect to learn even more about Smart Campaign Solutions next year. Stay tuned by subscribing to our email newsletter, following us on Snapchat, LinkedIn, and Instagram, and checking out our For Business site. Here’s to more results together in 2026!