Snapchat is looking to expand its ad offering with the launch of an API (Application Programming Interface) that could be ready for testing by the spring, according a report on Digiday.

Until now, Snapchat has worked mainly with bigger advertisers, offering advertising as a managed service, working with the brand and its agency to ensure their ads are in tune with the user experience on the app. The launch of an API (which Snapchat has not confirmed) would enable the network to increase the scale of its ad offering by automating the process of buying ads and also improving its targeting capabilities. It would also enable Snapchat to offer a greater variety of ad formats and start building an advertising ecosystem in much the same way that Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have.

In a survey conducted by eMarketer among US brand and agency executives in September last year looking at the effectiveness of different ad platforms for “driving actions such as a test drive, phone call, newsletter sign up etc.” Snapchat was rated as a ‘D’ trailing behind Facebook (B+); Twitter and Pinterest (both B); LinkedIn (B-); and Instagram (C).