Snap deepens work on artificial intelligence technology, releases AI Chatbot for everyone for free

Snap Inc said on Wednesday that its artificial intelligence chatbot can now respond to users’ messages with a fully AI-generated image, as the owner of photo messaging app Snapchat deepens its work on artificial intelligence technology.

The announcement came at Snap’s annual Partner Summit. The company aims to use the technology to accelerate the development of augmented reality (AR) features, or computerized images superimposed on real-world photos and videos.

Generative AI has caught the attention of the tech industry in recent months and can generate original text or photos in response to prompts. Snap’s chatbot, called My AI, which can help users with everything from writing poetry to finding information, is built on OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology.

My AI is now available to all Snapchat users and can be used to answer questions in conversations between friends on Snapchat, Snap said on Wednesday. The chatbot was first rolled out to users who pay $3.99 per month for the company’s premium subscription, Snapchat+.

My AI could help users explore other parts of the Snapchat app by recommending lenses that can add effects to photos and videos, or use the app’s map feature to recommend real-world places to visit, said Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. interview.

“This is the first time we’re bringing artificial intelligence to communications, which is the core of our service,” he said. “People are really using My AI as a creative tool.”

My AI’s ability to respond to users with its own AI-generated photos will be available first on Snapchat+, which has reached 3 million subscribers, Snap said.

AI chatbots have grown, and so have concerns about whether AI could plagiarize published works, provide inaccurate information, or return malicious survey responses.

Snap said it added new safeguards to My AI, including temporarily restricting a user’s access to the chatbot if they repeatedly ask it inappropriate or harmful questions.

Snap analyzes conversations with My AI and has found that 99.5% of the chatbot’s responses follow Snapchat’s community guidelines, Spiegel said.

He added that My AI now also takes into account the user’s age “to make sure the conversation is age-appropriate.” On Wednesday, the Santa Monica, Calif.-based company also unveiled new AR mirrors that can be installed in stores to allow customers to virtually try on clothes or see what accessories will go with their outfit.

Retailers Nike and Men’s Warehouse use mirrors in some stores, Snap said.

The mirrors are part of Snap, a business division launched last month to help other companies build AR experiences for their own apps and websites. The company could also help Snap diversify into digital advertising, which currently accounts for most of its revenue.

Read all the Latest Tech News here.