Snapchat has recently rolled out a new chatbot, called My AI, which is set to test whether chatbots belong in messaging apps. The bot is based on the OpenAI system behind ChatGPT and will appear inconspicuously in a subscriber’s list of friends. It can do just about anything ChatGPT can do, from writing poems and answering trivia questions to planning a weekend or providing a recipe.
My AI is part of Snapchat+’s bevy of quirky features that cost $4 a month. These features have been hugely successful, with over 2.5 million people already paying for the service in just nine months. This is a significant contrast to Twitter Blue, which has fewer than 300,000 subscribers despite being a cornerstone of Elon Musk’s revenue-generating strategy. Verification badges are a key feature of Twitter and Meta‘s pitch to prospective subscribers.
Snapchat’s new chatbot could be a test case and inspiration for copycats, as the company has a history of popularizing new features that have now become staples of modern social media apps. It was the first to introduce disappearing messages and “stories” format, and it made a bet on subscriptions long before Musk even owned Twitter and before the Meta Verified program existed.
While Facebook and Twitter are trying to persuade people to pay for blue check marks, Snapchat is offering something completely different. Its My AI chatbot is a unique feature that has the potential to revolutionize messaging apps by bringing AI technology to the forefront. Musk and Zuckerberg are a little behind on the current chatbot hype cycle, with Musk reportedly exploring the potential for developing an anti-woke chatbot and Zuckerberg forming a new team to focus on AI-driven products without giving a clear timeline for when they’d be ready.
Snapchat’s My AI is an exciting new feature that could pave the way for more AI chatbots in messaging apps. It will be interesting to see how successful the chatbot is and whether other social media platforms follow suit.
