Snapchat's AI chatbot is now available to users worldwide, the company announced today at its Snap Partner Summit.
The idea of bringing AI to the Snapchat app was originally intended to give users a different way to use the app while capitalizing on growing consumer demand for a ChatGPT-like experience. The company suggests the feature could be used to suggest birthday gift ideas for BFFs, plan outings, recommend dinner recipes, or write poems for friends, among other things.
Unfortunately for Snap, the AI quickly got out of hand. Just days after its debut, The Washington Post reported that the robot was behaving erratically. While the robot told the robot user to be a young 15-year-old, the robot offered advice at a birthday party on how to mask the smell of alcohol and marijuana. It also wrote a school paper for teens. When the bot was told the user was 13, it answered a question about how it determined emotions during first-time sex.
In response, Snap said users have been trying to "trick chatbots into giving answers that don't meet our guidelines," and introduced new tools including an age filter to make the AI's answers more age-appropriate.
It also said it would share insights from its Family Center Parental Control Center, which helps parents and guardians stay informed about their children's interactions with robots.
As of today's global launch, Snap hasn't done so, and hasn't said when Family Center controls will go live, other than to say it's a work in progress.
At the same time, the company is making chatbots more appealing to younger users by allowing chatbots to start group chats with friends and add @mentions to them. This is where the bot enters the chat, and it will flash next to its name to indicate that it's a bot and not another group member.
AI will also be able to suggest locations or relevant shots. For example, it might suggest weekend activities or use a nice lens to wish a friend a happy birthday, Snap said.
It can respond to your snaps with chat responses now, and generate visual responses later. However, the feature is limited to Snapchat+ subscribers, although My AI is now free to use.
At today's Partner Summit, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel suggested that users who take pictures of their dogs, for example, could get a funny dog photo as a generated response.
"Or, if you send in a photo of a vegetable growing in your garden, my AI might suggest a recipe," he added. "We can't wait to see how our community embraces my AI."
It is unclear what security controls were incorporated into the generation. This could be another problem, since other generative AI applications like Lensa AI can be easily tricked into creating NSFW images.
Other new personalization features have also been introduced, including the ability to name your AI and create custom Bitmoji for it to give your My AI more identity.
So far, the feature has only been available to Snapchat+ subscribers for $3.99 per month, which may help drive upgrades. Snap also said today that Snapchat+ now has more than 3 million subscribers. However, AI will now be generally available, and some AI features will require a paid upgrade.
Note: This post was updated during Snap's live event to reflect the new My AI pricing structure, with free and paid access to future generative AI features.
