snapthe parent company of Snapchat, held its Snap Partner Summit 2023 on Tuesday (April 19) and unveiled a number of new features and experiences to improve the user experience on the platform. The company added new options to its signature story formats at the annual event, adding new calling lenses and location sharing options for the Snap Map. It has also launched new programs to help creators monetize and engage with their audience. Snap is also expanding its AR try-on capabilities, which allow users to use their cameras to try on products virtually. It also introduces My AI chatbot running on OpenAI’s GPT technology to the global markets. The social media company claims to have reached over 750 million monthly active users around the world.
At the virtual summit, Snap announced new Calling Lenses that allow users to appear together in one frame during video calls without a grid. Stories get two new options – After Dark and Communities. The former can be used to post late night events, while the Communities feature allows users to share their perspectives with classmates.
The Snap Map also gets a new location sharing option with landmarks displayed in 3D. If you share your live location with a friend, they will see yours Bitmoji, also known as the cartoon avatar of yours. Snapchat claims that more than 1.7 billion Snapchatters appear as their Bitmoji. In addition, it pointed out that Snapchat has now reached more than 750 million monthly users around the world.
Additionally, Snapchat offers new ways for content creators to earn revenue, engage with their audience, and compete with meta owners with the Stories revenue share program and Spotlight rewards program Facebook And Instagram. Snapchatters with at least 50,000 followers, 25 million monthly Snap views, and posting at least 10 Stories per month may be eligible to participate in the Stories Revenue Share Program. The Spotlight Rewards program allows users to create and share short videos, and the company rewards the best Spotlight snaps.
Snapchat also offers a wider audience for users over the age of 18. You could post public stories with a tap. Additionally, with the latest scheduling feature, creators can set the preferred date and time for their posts. Creators can now also add a linktree to their new public profile. This could counteract features like TikTok and Instagram.
At the summit, Snap announced its multi-year partnership with American entertainment company Live Nation. It will bring custom AR experiences to 16 of the biggest festivals, including Beyond Wonderland Southern California and Electric Daisy Carnival, the company said.
Snap also announced its integration with live event visualization company Disguise to bring Snap AR to some of the largest venues and tours in the world. “During future shows, fans will be able to see AR visuals through the Snapchat camera that interact with the visual production on stage via Disguise RenderStream,” it said. Also, Snapchat is collaborating with popular DJ Kygo to create AR experiences for some of his concerts.
Snapchat is also expanding its shopping suite to allow users to try on clothes and clothing virtually using Snap’s in-house AR imaging technology and 3D viewer. The Fit Finder feature gives shoppers accurate fit and sizing recommendations.
In addition to the AR shopping experience, Snapchat has introduced AR mirrors that allow customers to try on products virtually. According to Snap, retail brands like Men’s Wearhouse and Nike are currently using AR Mirrors to improve the shopping experience. Snapchat has also partnered with Coca-Cola to launch an AR-enabled Coca-Cola vending machine. Customers can control the machine with gestures.
Additionally, Snap announced the launch of new Generative AI Lenses at the annual summit. With this feature, Snapchatters around the world can transform themselves and the world around them into an animated sci-fi scene through the Cosmic Lens. The app also makes recommendations on Lenses that fit the context of a photo or video a Snapchatter took. Lense recommendations based on Snapchatters’ unique preferences are a new way to quickly add AR to Memories, the other new feature.
The Santa Monica, California-based company announced the expansion of its experimental chatbot My AI, powered by the latest version of OpenAI’s GPT technology. The AI chatbot originally featured in February exclusively for Snapchat+ subscribers, now reaches a global audience with brand new features.
My AI comes with several unique Bitmoji variations that allow users to design and personalize their own unique Bitmoji for their AI. The chatbot can be bought into Conversations with Friends by mentioning @My AI and asking a question on behalf of the group. My AI displays location recommendations from the Snap Map and suggests relevant Lenses. The community can send snaps to My AI and receive a chat response.
Snapchat claims that My AI’s programming helped it assess the seriousness of potentially harmful content and temporarily restricted Snapchatters’ access to My AI if they were abusing the service. It is also working on integrating My AI into our in-app tool for parents.
