According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple could integrate ads into Maps as early as next year. Gurman writes in his latest Power On newsletter that the company’s engineering team has already started preparing the software to support search ads.
MORE FROM RAVZGADGET: Elon Musk Is Considering Investment In Neuralink’s Rival Brain Chip Company
According to reports, Apple will begin integrating that work sometime in 2023.
Gurman previously reported that the company was testing an internal version of Maps with search ads. Such advertisements are already available on Apple’s App Store.
Developers can pay the company to have their software prioritized in search results, ensuring that it appears at the top of the page when users enter specific terms. Gurman stated that search ads within Maps would function similarly.
A Mexican restaurant, for example, could pay Apple to have their business appear higher in local listings when people search for terms like “tacos” and “ceviche.”
Gurman speculated at the time that the test was part of Apple’s plan to significantly increase its advertising revenue. He attributed the push to Todd Teresi, the company’s vice president in charge of advertising.
MORE FROM RAVZGADGET: A16z’s Fintech Leads Say ‘Silicon Valley Is Becoming Unbundled’
The division generates approximately $4 billion in annual revenue, which Teresi hopes to increase to at least $10 billion per year in the future.
