Snapchat Launches GPT-Powered AI Chatbot

Snapchat announced the launch of “My AI'', their new chatbot that is powered by the latest version of OpenAI’s GPT technology. The chatbot is currently exclusively released as an experimental feature on Snapchat+, which has a $3.99 monthly subscription. 

My AI has been trained to answer trivia questions, suggest trip and birthday plans, along with writing three line poetries. Users can customise their chatbot by giving it a name and wallpaper to the chat. 

The social media app recently surpassed two million paid users, and the integration of My AI is likely to increase the number of paid subscribers. According to the company's blog post, Snapchat's messaging platform has a user base of 750 million people every month, with 75% aged between 13 to 34 and hailing from over 20 countries. The incorporation of AI into the messaging platform can enhance user experience and foster stronger connections in the long run, as per Snapchat. 

The notion of safety holds significant importance for Snapchat as its user base primarily consists of young people. Therefore, the company has taken measures to ensure the chatbot doesn't engage in harmful or misleading topics and refrains from providing responses in such situations. The company also says that the information will be stored and reviewed for improving the product experience in the future, warning to not share secrets with My AI. 

After the recent events of chatbots giving out unnerving, hallucinating, and strange information, Snapchat acknowledged in their blog post, ahead of usage, that there might be several deficiencies in their chatbot, and said, “sorry in advance”. The company also plans to incorporate LLMs apart from OpenAI in the future.