Snap SNAP will focus on growing and diversifying its underperforming advertising business, with a focus on augmented reality, CEO Evan Spiegel told employees in a statement Tuesday.
The announcement comes at a difficult time for the Snapchat owner, who is working with major social media companies such as Instagram parent Meta Platforms 
META and Bytedance’s TikTok compete for advertising revenue.
“You may be wondering why, given all the progress we have made in our business over the past year, our share price has lagged behind the overall market. The answer is simple: Our advertising business is growing more slowly than that of our competitors,” Spiegel said in the statement.
In early August, Snap gave weak guidance (link) for the current quarter, citing a decline in advertising spending, and revenue in fiscal 2024 is now expected to be $5.34 billion, according to LSEG data.
Snap’s stock has fallen 48 percent so far this year.
The company will also revamp its market strategy by introducing new advertising placements powered by machine learning and automation.
It also develops augmented reality and smart glasses, similar to its competitor Meta.
“We are investing in the development of augmented reality glasses that enable people to interact with computers, the world and each other in completely new ways,” the statement said.
In June, Snap launched generative AI tools ((link)) that allow users to apply more realistic effects when filming themselves with their phone camera.
