Apple has revealed it is about to bring more advertisements to the search results page for its App Store portal. In 2026, Apple is planning to open up more ad spots, potentially making it more difficult to find the applications you’ve initially searched for.
Currently, the single sponsored link that sits at the top of the search result is for a chief rival of the app you’ve actually typed in, or one that’s looking for your attention when you’ve entered a more general query like ‘photo collage’. When Apple adds more ads, it may be more difficult to discern which entries were paid for by developers and publishers and which are organically ranking in the search results for user reviews, and such.
The announcement came via Apple’s ad site where it says it is “increasing the opportunities” to appear within the search results. Apple says: “Apple Ads will introduce additional ads across search queries” appearing “either the existing position — at the top of search results — or further down in search results.”
Apple says that 65% of app downloads are derived from search. So it’s potentially great news for App Store developers, but not necessarily for users. Apple avoided placing ads in its products for the longest time, continually assuring users that it wasn’t in the business model. It was a nice way for Apple to differentiate itself from Google, whose business model is entirely dictated by selling ads. However, the App Store broke the damn in this respect and now we’re going to be inundated with more.
