WebAR (web-based augmented reality)

What is WebAR and how does it work?

Augmented reality (AR) overlays digital objects on a live camera image so they appear to sit in the real environment. Classic AR runs in native apps built on Apple’s ARKit or Google’s ARCore. WebAR moves the same idea into the browser: the user opens a web page, grants camera access, and the AR scene loads like any other website.

Technically, WebAR combines several web standards. The camera feed comes in through the browser’s media API (getUserMedia), 3D graphics are rendered with WebGL, and computer vision for tracking often runs in JavaScript or WebAssembly. On Android, Chrome also supports the W3C WebXR Device API, which hands tracking to ARCore on supported devices. Safari on iPhone does not offer WebXR AR sessions, so iOS experiences either use their own tracking in the browser or open Apple’s AR Quick Look viewer with a 3D file in USDZ format.

3D content for the web is usually delivered as glTF or its binary form GLB, an open format from the Khronos Group. Pages must be served over HTTPS, because browsers only allow camera access on secure connections.

What types of WebAR tracking exist?

WebAR experiences differ mainly in what they anchor content to:

• Image tracking: the camera recognises a specific printed image, such as a mailing, poster or label, and attaches content to it. A video can appear to play on the paper, or a 3D object can rise out of it.
• Surface or world tracking: the phone detects the floor or a table and lets the user place a life-size object, such as a car, a piece of furniture or a device, in the room.
• Face tracking: content follows the user’s face, used for try-ons of glasses, make-up or masks.
• 3D viewer with AR mode: the user rotates a model on the page and can switch to AR to place it in the room. Google’s open-source model-viewer component works this way.

How is WebAR used in marketing and print?

The main argument for WebAR in marketing is reach. An app download is a large hurdle for a one-off campaign, while a link works for anyone with a recent smartphone. That makes WebAR a natural partner for print: a mailing, catalogue, poster or package carries a trigger, either a QR code or an NFC tag, and the AR scene opens in the browser seconds later.

Typical uses are product launches where the product is not yet in stores, configurators that show colours and variants, explainers for products that are hard to show in 2D, and event or brand storytelling. In automotive, a mailing can place a new model in the recipient’s driveway; in healthcare, a 3D model can show how a device or mechanism works. Our blog post on AR direct mail ideas for car manufacturers collects concrete formats.

What are the limits of WebAR?

WebAR is a trade-off between reach and capability. Native AR apps still offer more stable tracking, better lighting estimation and access to features such as LiDAR scanning on some iPhones. Browser experiences must keep files small so they load quickly on mobile networks, which limits polygon counts and texture sizes.

There are also practical points to plan for. The camera permission prompt is a step where some users drop off, so the page should explain what will happen before asking. Older or low-end phones may run AR slowly or not at all, and a fallback (a video or 3D viewer without AR) keeps them in the experience. AR also works poorly in very dark rooms and on plain, reflective surfaces where tracking has nothing to hold on to.

How do you measure a WebAR experience?

Because WebAR runs on a web page, it can be measured with the same methods as any website. Useful events include page load, camera permission granted, AR scene started, object placed, time spent in AR, interactions such as rotating or changing a colour, and clicks on calls to action like booking a test drive. Comparing these steps shows where people drop off.

When the AR experience is opened from a printed piece with a unique link, these events can also be linked to the specific mailing or recipient. This is what turns a creative AR scene into campaign data that can be compared with other channels.

How does Interactive Paper use WebAR?

Interactive Paper uses WebAR as the experience layer behind its print products. With Tap, the recipient taps the paper with a phone and an AR scene opens in the browser: for example a video that appears to play on the card, followed by a 3D object the user can place in the room. Interactive Paper Scan opens the same type of experience from a QR code. Published examples on the success stories page include a 3D view of a new smartphone and a product bottle shown in AR in a premium mailing.

For car makers, AR mail for automotive combines an NFC mailing with a browser-based 3D model, configurator or test-drive booking. Interactive Paper also creates and adapts 3D models for AR use. All sessions run through the Let’s interact platform, so AR interactions appear in the same dashboard as the rest of the campaign.

Frequently asked questions