Apple Maps users could start seeing ads in the app as soon as next year, according to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
Similar to Google Maps and other mapping apps, Apple’s plan is to allow restaurants and other businesses with brick-and-mortar locations to pay to promote themselves in search results, Gurman says. While Apple already runs ads in the App Store, this could be part of a larger strategy to introduce more advertising in iOS.
Apple will reportedly try to distinguish itself from the competition with a better interface, and by using AI to show relevant results.
The question, Gurman says, is whether Apple device owners will start to rebel as Apple devices and apps increasingly become billboards trying to convince you to pay for more Apple services.
