Snapchat introduced a new ad format on Tuesday to let brands engage users on the platform. Dubbed Sponsored AI Lenses, it is a new tool for brands to create artificial intelligence (AI) Lenses that users on the social media app can use to click selfies and post them. The Santa Monica-based social media company has been building out its augmented reality (AR) filters on its platform for several years now, and recently, it integrated AI into these experiences to let users generate images and filters.
Snapchat Will Now Let Brands Create AI Lenses
In a newsroom post, Snapchat announced the Sponsored AI Lenses for brands. Calling it a “new way to create immersive, generative AI advertising on Snapchat,” the company claimed, quoting its internal data, that this new ad format can enable companies to get 25-45 percent more impressions in a single day.
Essentially, with this ad format, Snapchat will allow brands to buy AR-enabled AI Lenses that showcase the brand’s campaign in an immersive way. These AI Lenses will then be added to all the other filters users can already select on the platform. The company believes this will allow brands a new avenue to reach out to users and promote their products and ad campaigns.
Snapchat said brands such as Tinder and Uber, as well as the British pop-rock band Colplay, have already used Sponsored AI Lenses to create unique filters for users on the platform. Tinder created the “My 2025 Dating Vibe” AI Lens in the last week of December 2024, and Uber created the “My Thanksgiving Vibe” AI Lens earlier last year. Coldplay also used a special AI Lens to promote its tenth studio album, Moon Music.
“Due to the immersive nature of the format, Snapchatters spent more time engaging with Sponsored AI Lenses compared to standard Lenses,” the post added. Citing internal data between November 2024 and January 2025, the company claimed that both Uber and Tinder witnessed “higher than average” playtimes while using the new ad format. The post did not disclose any numbers.
Further, citing internal data from the second quarter of last year, the social media platform claimed that more than 300 million users engage with the AR experiences every day. Users looking for Sponsored AI Lenses can find them within the Lens Carousel.
