Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, hosted its Snap Partner Summit 2023 on April 19, unveiling a variety of innovative features aimed at enhancing the user experience. The annual event spotlighted improvements to the platform’s signature story formats, introduced new Calling Lenses, and enhanced location-sharing capabilities for the Snap Map. Additionally, Snap announced new initiatives tailored to help creators with monetization and audience engagement. The company also previewed the expansion of its augmented reality (AR) try-on features, as well as the rollout of its My AI chatbot, powered by OpenAI’s GPT technology, to users globally. According to the company, Snapchat has surpassed 750 million monthly active users worldwide.
During the virtual summit, Snap revealed new Calling Lenses that allow users to appear together in a single frame for video calls without the traditional grid layout. The Stories feature is set to receive two new options: After Dark, designed for sharing late-night events, and Communities, which enables users to share insights with their classmates.
The Snap Map will also introduce an innovative location-sharing option, featuring landmarks in 3D. When sharing real-time locations with friends, users’ Bitmoji avatars will be visible, contributing to the personalized user experience. Snap highlighted that over 1.7 billion Snapchatters use their Bitmoji avatars on the platform.
In an effort to support content creators, Snap is launching a new Stories revenue share program alongside a Spotlight reward initiative. Creators with a minimum of 50,000 followers, 25 million monthly Snap views, and who post at least ten Stories each month may qualify for the Stories revenue share. The Spotlight program will reward users for creating and sharing short videos, aiming to foster competition with Meta-owned platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.
Moreover, users aged over 18 will now have expanded opportunities to post Public Stories more easily. The newly introduced scheduling feature enables creators to select preferred dates and times for sharing posts. Additionally, users can now integrate a Linktree into their new Public Profile to streamline their online presence, positioning Snapchat to compete more effectively with TikTok and Instagram.
The summit also highlighted a new multi-year partnership with Live Nation, which will bring custom AR experiences to 16 major festivals, including Beyond Wonderland Southern California and the Electric Daisy Carnival.
Snap has teamed up with Disguise, a live event visualization company, to implement Snap AR at some of the world’s largest venues and tours. The company plans to offer fans AR visuals that interact with on-stage productions during live events, facilitated by Disguise RenderStream. Notably, Snapchat will collaborate with well-known DJ Kygo to develop AR experiences for select concerts.
Snapchat’s Shopping Suite is also being enhanced, allowing users to virtually try on clothing and accessories using Snap’s proprietary AR Image Processing technology and 3D Viewer. The Fit Finder feature will provide shoppers with tailored fit and size recommendations.
In addition, Snap introduced AR Mirrors, allowing customers to virtually try on products. Retail brands such as Men’s Wearhouse and Nike are reportedly using AR Mirrors to improve the in-store shopping experience. A collaboration with Coca-Cola will also bring an AR-enabled vending machine, which customers can control with gestures.
The summit further showcased the launch of new Generative AI Lenses, enabling Snapchatters to transform their surroundings and themselves into animated science fiction scenarios through the Cosmic Lens. The app will recommend Lenses that match the context of a user’s captured photos or videos, offering quick access to AR capabilities for Memories, as well as personalized Lens recommendations based on user preferences.
Additionally, Snap announced plans to broaden the reach of its My AI chatbot, initially introduced in February for Snapchat+ subscribers. Now set for a global release, My AI will come with enhanced features and multiple unique Bitmoji variations, allowing users to personalize their own Bitmoji for the AI experience.
The chatbot can be integrated into conversations with friends using the @ mention feature, allowing users to ask group questions. My AI will also provide location recommendations via the Snap Map and suggest relevant Lenses. Users can interact with My AI by sending Snaps and receiving chat replies.
Snap claims the implementation of My AI has enabled it to better assess potentially harmful content, temporarily restricting access for Snapchatters who misuse the service. The company is also working on integrating My AI into its in-app parental controls.
