3rd March 2023

POV: Snapchat Introduces My AI

Background:

Snapchat has become the first social media platform to join the generative AI frenzy by announcing the release of its own AI chatbot called ‘My AI’ powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology.

Details and Implications:

My AI will be a new chatbot feature for Snapchat+ subscribers that will integrate ChatGPT into the platform and provide AI-generated responses to queries. Subscribers can ask questions and it will share answers customised for Snapchat.

Examples Snapchat shared included: “birthday gift idea recommendations for your BFF, plan a hiking trip for a long weekend, suggest a recipe for dinner, or even write a haiku about cheese for your cheddar-obsessed pal. Make My AI your own by giving it a name and customizing the wallpaper for your Chat.”

Unlike Microsoft’s Bing integration, Snapchat’s My AI isn’t meant to act as a search engine. Instead, it is supposed to be seen more as a Snapchat friend you can chat with, just like you’d chat with your real-world friends. The aim is to make it a fun customisable activity to enhance users’ in-app experience, but basically, it is a fast, mobile-friendly version of ChatGPT inside Snapchat.

Snap explained that all conversations with My AI will be stored and may be reviewed to improve the product’s experience. The company advised that users shouldn’t share any secrets with My AI or rely on the chatbot for advice. The company provided advance warning that although My AI is designed to avoid biased, incorrect, harmful or misleading information, mistakes may occur saying: “as with all AI-powered chatbots My AI is prone to hallucination and can be tricked into saying just about anything…Please be aware of its many deficiencies and sorry in advance!” The social network invites users to submit feedback by pressing and holding on any message from My AI.

My AI has been trained by Snap staff to comply with the company's trust and safety policies. As a result, its responses are more limited compared to the original version created by OpenAI. My AI is prohibited from providing answers containing offensive language, violent or sexually explicit content, or expressing opinions on sensitive subjects like politics. Additionally, it will not write complete academic essays, which has led to ChatGPT being banned in certain educational institutions.

Summary:

Snapchat is looking to capitalise on the AI wave with its new My AI feature, which could help it drive up Shapchat+ subscriptions. Snap is well known for being an innovative social platform and it already has over 2.5 million paying subscribers, this latest feature could attract more people to the platform, make it more sticky for existing users and drive overall revenues as a result.

Further Reading:

The Verge | TechCrunch | Social Media Today

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