Apple confirms ads are coming to Apple Maps - Engadget

The rollout starts this summer in the US and Canada. Apple Maps will soon have ads, Apple confirmed in a blog post announcing the company's new Apple Business platform. Reports that Apple planned to expand its ad business outside of the App Store and Apple News broke as recently as yesterday, but the company has been rumored to be exploring putting ads in its navigation app as far back as 2022. Ads in Maps, as the new advertising program is called, will allow businesses to create ads that can appear "when users search in Maps," at the top of search results and "at the top of a new Suggested Places experience in Maps, which will display recommendations based on what's trending nearby, the user's recent searches, and more," Apple says. The program will be open to Apple Business customers in the US and Canada starting this summer. Any advertisers using the existing Apple Ads experience will also be able to book space in Apple Maps. Like the other ads Apple offers to businesses in the App Store and Apple News, ads in maps will be clearly marked and are designed to maintain users' privacy. What ads users interact with and their current location is not associated with their Apple Account