Code buried inside iOS 27 suggests Apple is exploring a way to bring sponsored listings directly into Visual Intelligence search results.
The code points to third-party search providers such as Google inserting their own paid product listings rather than Apple selling the ad space itself. The result could look similar to the sponsored product rows already common on Google Search and Amazon.
It’s unclear whether Apple would receive a share of any advertising revenue generated through those placements.
What Users Would Actually See
Visual Intelligence already lets iPhone users point their camera at an item and search for it online, with results coming from services including Google Image Search and retailers such as Amazon, Etsy, and Anthropologie.
Under the system described in the code, those same partners could place sponsored product images alongside the organic results Visual Intelligence already returns.
In practice, pointing an iPhone camera at a product could eventually return paid placements mixed with regular search results, much like searching for a product on Google or browsing Amazon.
That would differ from advertising in Apple’s own apps, where Apple controls and sells the inventory directly. With Visual Intelligence, the search providers would appear to handle the sponsored listings themselves.
Apple Keeps Finding More Places for Ads
The discovery comes as Apple expands advertising across more of its software. The company added more sponsored placements to App Store search results in March and began showing ads inside Apple Maps in the United States and Canada last month.
Visual Intelligence would push that expansion into camera-based search, turning a feature Apple has heavily promoted in iOS 27 into another potential surface for sponsored content.
There’s no guarantee the feature will ship. References found in software code can point to experiments or unfinished features that Apple ultimately abandons, and the company has not announced plans to bring ads to Visual Intelligence. iOS 27 is scheduled for release on September 14.
