Snap Summit 2023: AI Features, Expanding Public Stores and More

Snap's "My AI" is coming with new features. 

Key Insights:  

• Snap launched a series of new AI-driven features under its tool “My AI.” 
• The social media app also introduced new monetization programs, Public Stories, and other features that help creators widen their reach. 
• Snap’s latest features come at the dawn of TikTok’s potential ban in the U.S., which Snap CEO Evan Spiegel would “love” to happen.  

Snap Inc held its annual Summit last week, where it revealed a handful of new AI-driven app features.  

For starters, the new app is expanding “My AI” — the ChatGPT-powered generative AI chat assistant it introduced last February. Initially a feature available only to Snapchat+ subscribers, All users can now use My AI straight from their inboxes.  

In a video shown in the Partner Summit, users ask the chatbot to make dad jokes, write songs, recommend surfer spots, and name pets.  

Other features include adding My AI to chats with friends by simply typing @ My AI in a group chat and the ability to personalize My AI avatars with over thousands of Bitmoji variations so that users can say goodbye to the purple avatar associated with the tool. 

Meanwhile, for Snapchat+ subscribers, the new and improved My AI has an image generation feature that allows it to process user cues and create visual replies – similar to GPT-4.  

While the feature is “far from perfect,” the company explained in a press release that 99.5% of My AI’s responses adhere to community guidelines, making it a safer experience for Snapchat users.  

The social media platform is also leveling up its AR Lens by incorporating generative AI with designs that adapt based on input, like the new “Cosmic Lens.”  

Monetization program, Public Stories and more 

The company is also rolling out a new monetization program to give its creators an extra hand.  

With the Stories revenue share program, Snapchatters can place ads within Stories, providing them with a “recurring source of cash payouts” they can use to reinvest in their own content.  

For now, only creators with at least 50,000 followers, 25 million monthly Snap views, and at least 10 stories a month can join the program. 

Regarding Stories features, the social media platform is also introducing Public Stories, where users aged 18 or above can post a Public Story and reach a wider audience all from the same account.  

“Our new scheduling feature gives creators more control and allows them to post to their Story whenever, wherever. Creators can also save a Snap to their new Public Profile and get access to content performance insights and Story Replies,” the company explained in a blogpost.  

To push the envelope even further, Snap is bringing creator content to Snap Map, making it easier for creators to be discovered through Stories and Spotlight.  

“Creators helping our community discover the next “can’t miss” restaurant can expand their reach by simply tagging locations in their Spotlight Snaps. With place tags, their videos will appear on place profiles on the Snap Map, where more than 300 million Snapchatters go monthly for great local recommendations,” it added.  

Lastly, creators can now add a Linktree to their public profiles, making it easier for their followers to connect with them and discover their content across other platforms. 

In the Spotlight: Snap competes with other giants 

Snap clearly focuses on innovating its AI tools, but with its latest developments, it’s even clearer that it wants to par with other social media giants like TikTok.  

And Snap CEO Evan Spiegel’s answer to a journalist clarified this. When asked whether TikTok should be banned, Spiegel said during the 2023 Summit: “We’d love that.”  

While the short response was met with cheers and laughed from the audience, the CEO followed up with a more serious answer and acknowledged what a potential ban on TikTok could mean for other social platforms. 

“It is important for us to be thoughtful and really develop a regulatory framework to deal with security concerns, especially around technology,” Spiegel explained. “I think based on the information that is publicly available, there are legitimate national security concerns far above my pay grade,” he added.  

Snapchat’s Spotlight, its vertical feed feature rivalling TikTok, currently has 350 million monthly users – 650 million users short of TikTok’s 1 billion monthly users and YouTube Shorts, 1.5 billion logged-in monthly viewers.  

With its newest AR and AI push, the social company can only hope to bridge the gap between the numbers.