Snapchat has added a new ChatGPT-like AI feature! Here’s how it works

My AI, a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence (AI), was introduced by Snapchat in February. The chatbot is pinned to the chat tab above the chats and is powered by OpenAI's GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) technology. Along with enhancements, it also made the feature free for all customers in the same month to its more than 750 million users. 

How does the feature make a difference? 

As per the official Snapchat blog, the company said this bot works like ChatGPT, i,e. by answering user queries about the ‘best spots to celebrate a birthday’ or to help them decide the plan for the perfect hiking spot, or suggest to people what to have for dinner. Moreover, this bot also allows the users to connect with their old friends and is referred to as experimental for the snap ‘chatters’. 

But unlike ChatGPT, My AI won't function like a search engine; rather, it's designed to function like texting another Snapchat user, just like a user would text with their friends. 
This bot can be further used to create Bitcmoji avatars for personalisation. The feature was initially rolled out in February for a $3.99 monthly subscription for Snapchat Plus subscribers. 

"The big idea is that in addition to talking to our friends and family every day, we’re going to talk to AI every day," stated Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. He continued to say, "And this is something we’re well positioned to do as a messaging service." 

Things  to keep in mind when using Snapchat's My AI feature 

The conversations on Snapchat are stored until a user deletes them, and like a genuine friend, My AI gets to know you better the more you interact with it, to help you a user get more relevant responses per se, as highlighted by the company in its blog post. But at the same time, it's important to note that a user should not reveal too much information with My AI, given the fact that all such personal discussions are saved by the company to improve their services or to train their model. 

The blog post also focused on the use of My AI to create content that is not political, sexual, harassing, deceptive, spam, malware, or that encourages violence, self-harm, human trafficking, or would otherwise be against our Community Guidelines. Additionally, users ought to refrain from giving My AI access to private or delicate information. 

How successful has the new feature been?? 

Data from app intelligence company, Sensor Tower shows that Snapchat received an average of 1.67 reviews in the U.S. App Store over the past week, with 75 percent of those reviews being one-star ratings. Comparatively, the average Snapchat review in the U.S. App Store for Q1 2023 was 3.05, with only 35 percent of reviews being one-star.

Apptopia, another app data provider, stated that Snapchat received around 3x more one-star ratings than usual on April 20, 2023, just the day after it announced the My AI global release. The global release allowed users to use the feature for free, which later garnered backlash against Snapchat's new feature at the time of the popularity of AI bots.

Users complain about the new feature 

Dozens of AI chatbot apps have flooded app stores to make millions, which may be one of the thoughts behind multiple social media companies launching their new AI features.However, this hasn’t gone that well with a lot of users. As per the data from social media,  My AI could not win the hearts of many Snapchat users. To be specific, many users complained about this app for entering into users’ space without their consent. 

My AI is pinned to the top of users' Chat feeds inside the app, and unlike other chats, it cannot be unpinned, blocked, or deleted. Plus, Snapchat already has an established presence in this feed with its own ‘Team Snapchat’ chats, and now it’s doubling the screen real estate with this new feature. 

Users are completely disparaging the AI bot in the dozens of replies to Snap's tweet. Instead of being compelled to accept it, they argue that it should only be opt-in or that they should be given the choice to use the My AI feature. Some users are so furious over this new feature that they've even threatened to stop using Snapchat and remove the app entirely.

Several others also criticised the algorithm of Snapchat to know their location and use the information to train its data even after not turning on the location option on the Snap Map. 

Snapchat’s take on the situation 

Snapchat declined to comment on the matter and pointed out the scenario of 2 million messages sent to the app at the time of its first testing. 

Despite claiming to be constantly improving Snapchat's features in response to user feedback, the company made no commitment Moreover, The company said that it’s constantly iterating on Snapchat’s features based on the community’s feedback but is not committed to removing the AI as of now. 

At that moment, a Snapchat spokesperson told the users to stop using the feature, if they don’t like it.