As you scroll down Instagram search results page, you’ll see even more ads.
It’s time to expect more ads on Instagram, and this time, they’re in the search results. According to Instagram’s blog, companies can now insert ads into the search results feed that appears when you tap into a post. For the time being, the new placement is just a test, but Instagram plans to roll it out globally soon.
While Instagram’s post vaguely states the ads will “reach people actively searching for businesses, products and content,” spokesperson Shenny Barboza has since confirmed to The Verge that ads will appear for searches that fall within our community and recommendation guidelines. All searches that meet those criteria could potentially show advertisements.
Instagram is offering something called “reminder ads,” which may sound annoying but they come with the option to opt in. The example shown was for a season premiere and included a “Remind me” button to click. If you choose to take advantage of this feature it will send out three push notifications: one day ahead of time, 15 minutes before the event, and then at the start time.
As Instagram has grown over the years, it has only added ads to Explore pages, Explore feeds, Reels, Stories, and user profiles. I’m not surprised that Instagram’s bringing them to search result feeds as well, but I’ll mourn the loss of another area of Instagram where ads won’t interrupt my scrolling.
