HIGHLIGHTS

* Snapchat’s AI-powered chatbot My AI is now available for all users.
* It was earlier exclusive only to Snapchat+ subscribers.
* Snap is also adding more features to My AI. 
* Snap Inc launched new features for Snapchat at annual Partner Summit.
* The new features will enhance app experience of Snapchat’s over 750 million monthly active users.
* The new AI chatbot– My AI is currently available for Snapchat+ users who pay Rs 49 per month for subscription.

Snapchat’s AI-powered chatbot ‘My AI’ is now available for free to all users globally. This feature was earlier exclusive to Snapchat+ subscribers but now anyone can access it.
The announcement was made at the Snap Partner Summit 2023. In addition to this, Snap also added more capabilities to My AI and its integration with other tools on Snapchat.

Snap launched My AI earlier this year in February but only for its paid Snapchat+ subscribers. My AI has been developed using OpenAI’s GPT technology, the same that powers the popular Chatgpt.

In a press release, Snap said My AI has so far sent around 2 million messages per day and learning about users’ movies, sports, pets, and the world around them. My AI has a couple of features that are all integrated into chat and other tools on Snapchat.

Snapchat’s AI chatbot is now opening up to a global audience, the company announced today at its Snap Partner Summit. Initially launched in February, the feature originally allowed Snapchat’s paid subscribers chat with an AI Chatbot powered by Open AI’s GPT technology its app. Now it will be available for free.

To date, users have sent nearly 2 million messages per day using the chatbot, Snap noted. With today’s global expansion, the feature is also being upgraded with new functionality, including the ability to add My AI to group chats, get recommendations for places on Snap Map and Lenses, and share Snaps with My AI and receive chat replies.

Later, My AI will be able to respond with unique “generative” Snaps back, instead of just chat replies, the company also said, to keep the visual conversation going.

The idea to integrate AI into the Snapchat app was originally intended to give users another way to engage in the app while taking advantage of the growing consumer demand for ChatGPT-like experiences. The company suggested the feature could be used to do things like suggest birthday gift ideas for a BFF, plan a hiking trip, suggest dinner recipes or write a poem for a friend, among other things.

Unfortunately for Snap, the AI soon went off the rails. Only days after its debut, The Washington Post reported the bot was responding in an unsafe manner. Despite telling the bot the user was a young teen, aged 15, the bot made suggestions about how to mask the smell of alcohol and pot at a birthday party. It also wrote an essay for school for the teen. When the bot was told the user was 13, it responded to a question about how to set the mood when having sex for the first time.

Snap, in response, said users had been trying to trick the chatbot into providing responses that do not conform to our guidelines,” and rolled out new tools including age filters to keep the AI responses more age-appropriate.

It also said it would introduce insights into its Family Center parental controls hub that helps parents and guardians stay informed about their kids’ interactions with the bot.

As of today’s global launch, Snap has still not done so and hasn’t indicated when the Family Center controls would go live, only noting they were still in the works.

In the meantime, the company is making the chatbot more appealing to younger users by allowing it into group chats with friends, where it can be added with an @mention. Here, the bot will enter the chat with a sparkle next to its name to make it clear it’s a bot and not another group member.

The AI will also be able to suggest place recommendations or relevant Lenses. For instance, it could suggest weekend activities or a good Lens to use to wish a friend happy birthday, Snap says.

And it can now reply to your Snaps with a chat reply and later, it will be able to generate a visual response. The feature will be limited to Snapchat+ subscribers, however, even though My AI itself will now be free to use.

During today’s Partner Summit presentation, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel suggested that users who snapped a photo of their dog might get a funny dog photo back as a generative response, for example.

“Or if you send a Snap of the vegetables growing in your garden, My AI might recommend a recipe,” he added. “We can’t wait to see how our community embraces my AI.”

It’s not clear what sort of safety controls will be involved in the generative aspects. This could be another concern, as other generative AI apps, like Lensa AI, had been easily tricked making NSFW images.

Other new personalization features will be introduced, too, including the ability to name your AI and create a custom Bitmoji for it to give your My AI more of an identity.

The feature, before today, was available only to Snapchat+ $3.99 per month subscription holders, which could be helping drive upgrades. Snap today also said that Snapchat+ now has now more than 3 million subscribers .

However the AI will now be broadly available, with specific AI features being a paid upgrade.

Snapchat My AI Features

Snapchat already lets you create your Bitmoji and customise it. Similarly, My AI also gets a custom Bitmoji along with a name so you can start chatting with it. My AI can also join your group chats, and you can do so by typing @My AI and asking a question to it. Snap says everyone in the group is made aware when an AI enter the chat by adding a sparkle next to its name.

Since My AI is integrated into other features of the app, it leverages those for the user. For example, My AI can offer recommendations taken from the Snap Map. It can also suggest relevant lenses. So you can ask My AI to suggest weekend activities or Lens recommendations for different occasions. My AI can even receive Snaps and send chat replies.

Chat with My AI

If talking to someone on Snapchat isn’t enough, the company is going to let you talk to your AI chatbot. Snap+ subscribers will soon be able to ‘Snap’ with My AI and even get a “unique generative Snap” back from the chatbot.

Some examples of how this might work is if you send a dog picture, My AI will also reply with something similar. And if you send a picture of vegetables, My AI might reply with a recipe for the same.

My AI has started rolling out to all Snapchat users so it should be available soon along with the upcoming features.

Faqs on Snapchat

1) What are Monetization Programs in Snapchat ?

Ans) Just like other social media platforms, Snapchat also offers a monetization program that includes a Stories revenue share program that places ads within creators’ Stories and provides cash payouts. In the latest announcement Sna has announced that Snapchat creators with at least 50,000 followers, 25 million monthly Snap views, and who post at least 10 Stories a month are now eligible to join the monetary program to earn money from their content. They can refer to Creator Hub for more details on qualifying criteria and eligible countries.

2) What is the Public Stories feature in Snapchat ?

Ans) Snapchatters aged 18 or older can now post their own Public Story. They can create a Snap and choose to share it with friends or add it to their Public Story from the same account.

3) What is the Calling feature in Snapchat ?

Ans) Snap has also released new Calling Lenses that will let users call, appear together in one frame, and soon even play games and solve puzzles while they are on the video call.

4) What is the new Stories feature on Snapchat ?

Ans) Snap has also introduced two new ways for stories The first is a new type of Story called ‘After Dark’ that lets users add to the Story when they’re up late and see it unfold in the morning. The second is Communities, which lets users share their perspective with classmates. Communities will be rolling out to additional schools throughout the month.

5) What is Snap Map in Snapchat ?

Ans) Snapchat is adding a new location sharing option to Snap Map to make it easier to catch up with friends on the go. New landmarks will stand out in 3D and new tags will show places that were popular among friends and the broader Snapchat community the previous night.

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