Over 150 million people had sent over 10 billion messages to Snapchat’s chatbot when Snap announced its Microsoft Advertising partnership. That is a lot of purchase-intent conversation. Snapchat My AI ads now sit inside it, and most brands have no policy for them. Here is how to target, protect your reputation, and fit creators in.
What My AI ads actually are (and are not)
Start with precision, because the coverage is messy.
The core format is Sponsored Links. Snap partnered with Microsoft Advertising so that Sponsored Links in My AI run on Microsoft’s Ads for Chat API. The idea is simple: a link relevant to the conversation appears when a user signals interest in a topic. Snap’s own description is that the placement reaches people at the moment they show potential interest.
Two caveats matter for your planning.
- Access runs through Microsoft Advertising. Snap said Microsoft’s clients in the U.S. and select markets could take part, so this is not a standard self-serve Snapchat Ads Manager buy.
- It was labeled experimental. Snap described an early experimental phase focused on designing useful experiences. Treat any budget as a test, not a channel commitment.
Then there is the separate, creative side. Snap also introduced Sponsored AI Lenses, a new ad format powered by its proprietary generative AI. That is a Lens ad, not a chatbot placement. Mixing the two up in a media plan is an easy and expensive mistake.
My AI ads are a conversational placement with an experimental label. Sponsored AI Lenses are a creative format. Budget, brief, and measure them separately.
The Perplexity detour: why platform AI plans change fast
Here is a cautionary tale. In November 2025, TechCrunch reported that Perplexity would pay Snap $400 million in cash and equity to power a new chatbot, with Snap expecting to book revenue in 2026. Brands started imagining sponsored answers inside Snapchat search.
Then it fell apart. Engadget reported in May 2026 that the deal is dead. The two companies “amicably ended the relationship,” and the feature was tested but never fully rolled out.
What should a brand take from that? Not panic. Just discipline. Do not build a quarterly plan around an AI surface the platform has not fully shipped. Ask your Snap or Microsoft rep for written confirmation of what is live in your market today, not what is on a roadmap slide.
Targeting: think intent, not demographics
Classic Snapchat targeting leans on audience attributes. A chatbot placement flips that. The trigger is the topic of the conversation. Snap noted that people use My AI for recommendations across food and dining, beauty and fitness, shopping and gadgets.
That tells you where to look first. If your product lives in those categories, you have a plausible fit. If you sell financial products or regulated goods, you have a much harder compliance conversation.
A practical targeting worksheet:
- List the questions your buyer asks before purchase. “Best moisturizer for dry skin” is a trigger. “Snapchat user, 18-24” is not.
- Map each question to a landing page that answers it. A generic homepage wastes the intent.
- Set exclusions early. Sensitive topics (health claims, minors, alcohol) need explicit opt-outs in writing.
- Define one success metric. Qualified landing-page sessions beats raw clicks for a placement this new.
Be honest about measurement. A conversation-embedded link will not behave like a Story ad. Expect lower volume and judge it on downstream quality. If you are already wrestling with attribution on short-form video, the logic in our views to installs framework carries over well.
Safety: the part your legal team will ask about
Here is where brand risk lives. Snapchat skews young, and a chatbot is a conversation, not a feed. Your ad does not appear next to a post. It appears inside a dialogue you do not control.
Teen audience exposure
Snap says parents using Family Center can disable My AI from responding to their teen. That helps, but it is opt-in on the parent side. You cannot assume every minor is shielded. If your category is age-restricted or age-sensitive, put age exclusions in the insertion order and ask how they are enforced for a Sponsored Link in a chat.
Adjacency and context
You cannot see every conversation your link might sit inside. Request the following before launch:
- A written description of topic categories where Sponsored Links will not appear.
- Clarity on how ads are labeled so users can tell sponsored from organic suggestions.
- A reporting commitment, even if aggregated, on placement contexts.
- An escalation contact for a brand-safety incident, with a response window.
Disclosure and claims
Anything a chatbot says near your link can be read as endorsement. Keep your landing-page claims conservative and substantiated. And if creators amplify the same offer elsewhere, make the paid relationship obvious. Our paid partnership label audit shows the kind of tagging discipline that should apply across every platform you run.
Safety on conversational ads is a contract problem before it is a creative problem. Get exclusions, labeling, and escalation terms in writing before the first dollar moves.
Where creators fit in
My AI is an intent catcher. Creators are an intent generator. That pairing is the real opportunity.
Picture a beauty brand. A creator posts a routine on Snapchat Spotlight or Stories. A viewer later asks My AI for a product recommendation in that category. If your Sponsored Link is live, you meet them at the second step. The creator did the persuading, and the chatbot placement handles the “where do I buy this” moment.
To make that work operationally:
- Align vocabulary. Brief creators to use the same product and benefit terms your link targets.
- Stagger the flights. Run creator content first, then switch on the chat placement during the lift window.
- Protect your rights. If you want to repurpose creator content in paid formats, secure usage terms upfront. Our licensing audit guide covers the clauses worth checking, and the same logic applies on Snapchat.
- Vet for fit. Creators with teen-heavy audiences may be a poor match if your category is age-sensitive. Our guide to creator vetting offers a useful checklist to adapt.
Is a Sponsored AI Lens a better creator companion? Often, yes. Lenses invite participation, and creators can build content around them. But it is a different brief, a different budget line, and a different KPI (engagement and play rate, not intent clicks).
A low-risk test plan
You do not need a big commitment to learn something. Try this structure:
- Week 1: Confirm availability through your Microsoft Advertising or Snap contact. Get exclusions and labeling terms in writing.
- Weeks 2-3: Launch a capped test on one product line with a dedicated landing page and UTM structure.
- Weeks 3-4: Layer in two or three creators on the same theme and compare landing-page quality with and without creator support.
- Week 5: Review results, incident log, and cost per qualified session. Decide whether to scale, hold, or stop.
Set a hard stop-loss before you start. Experimental placements justify experimental budgets, and nothing more.
FAQs
What are Snapchat My AI ads?
The main format is Sponsored Links inside the My AI chatbot. Snap partnered with Microsoft Advertising to power them, and the links are meant to be relevant to the conversation a user is having.
Can any brand buy My AI ads through Snapchat Ads Manager?
Not necessarily. Snap’s announcement framed the program around Microsoft Advertising clients in the U.S. and select markets, and described it as experimental. Confirm availability and buying path with your rep before planning spend.
Are Sponsored AI Lenses the same as My AI ads?
No. Sponsored AI Lenses are a separate ad format powered by Snap’s generative AI technology. My AI ads are links within a chatbot conversation. They have different creative needs and different metrics.
What happened to the Perplexity deal?
TechCrunch reported that Perplexity would pay Snap $400 million in cash and equity to power a new chatbot in Snapchat. Engadget reported in May 2026 that the deal ended, and that the feature was tested but never fully rolled out. Brands should not plan around it.
Is My AI safe for brands targeting younger audiences?
It carries real risk. Parents can turn off My AI responses for their teen through Family Center, but that is optional. Brands in age-sensitive categories should negotiate exclusions in writing and avoid assumptions about who sees the placement.
How should I measure My AI ad performance?
Use a dedicated landing page and UTM structure, and judge success on qualified sessions or conversions rather than click volume. Expect smaller scale than a feed or Story placement.
Your next step: email your Snap or Microsoft Advertising rep this week and request written answers on availability, topic exclusions, and ad labeling for Sponsored Links. If you cannot get them, you have your answer on whether to test.
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