Say Hi to My AI: Snapchat’s New Chatbot

June 23, 2023

Say Hi to My AI: Snapchat’s New Chatbot

Snapchat recently launched a new feature called My AI, which is a chatbot based on OpenAI’s ChatGPT. This new addition to the popular social media platform allows users to engage with an experimental, friendly chatbot that is designed to be a personal sidekick for each Snapchatter who chats with it.

What is My AI on Snapchat?

My AI is a customised version of OpenAI’s GPT technology that has been tailored specifically for Snapchat. It is an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot that can engage with users in conversations and provide personalised recommendations based on their interests and preferences.

The chatbot is available exclusively for Snapchat+ subscribers, who get access to the latest pre-release features. To use My AI, simply open the app and navigate to the chat tab where you will find the bot pinned above your conversations with friends.

How does My AI work?

My AI uses natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning algorithms to understand user queries and respond appropriately. It can answer questions, provide recommendations, and even generate personalised content such as memes or stickers based on user input.

The more you interact with My AI, the better it gets at understanding your preferences and tailoring its responses accordingly. Over time, it can become a valuable companion that helps you discover new things and stay up-to-date on topics that interest you.

Think of it like the ‘for you’ pages on TikTok and instagram. We don’t even have to follow accounts anymore to see the posts that we’re interested in. Instead, algorithms pick up on what we like and engage with to show us posts that data suggests we’ll be interested in. This is beneficial for the platform because interested and engaged users are likely to spend more time on the app. This might have had an influence on why Snapchat has developed an AI feature. If people can engage with a chatbot that offers a truly personalised experience, they’re likely to spend longer on the app.

The longer users spend on a platform, the more ads they’re exposed to, and the better ads perform. This often leads to businesses increasing their ad spend, and therefore the platform makes more money.

Is My AI safe to use?

The chatbot has been trained by Snapchat employees to adhere to the company’s trust and safety guidelines, which means it will not provide answers that contain offensive or explicit content, such as swearing or sexually explicit material, nor opinions on sensitive topics like politics.

My AI has also had certain functionalities removed that have caused ChatGPT to be banned in some schools. For example, it cannot write academic essays about various topics. Snapchat plans to continue refining My AI as more people use it and report any inappropriate answers that may arise during conversations. Although no inappropriate responses were detected during initial testing, there is always a possibility that users may encounter them in the future.

Although Snapchat has taken steps to make the AI safe to use – like any AI – if it is trained using inherently biassed data, the risk of biassed responses increases. The nature of AI makes it sensitive to changes as it’s constantly learning, so it must be continually monitored to ensure nothing harmful is learned that can be passed on to users.

Snapchat is the favourite social network of teens. With the minimum snapchat age being 13, we can assume that this means millions of teens will now have access to an AI in the confines of their favourite app. Although it’s a paid feature, Snapchat advertises it on the free version so teens can still see that it’s available. Snapchat has a parental control feature but it only lets parents know who their children are speaking to, not what’s being said. So there is currently no way for parents to monitor conversations between their children and My AI.

How do I get rid of My AI if needed?

If for any reason you want to get rid of My AI from your Snapchat account, simply navigate to the chat tab where it is pinned and swipe left on its name. This will bring up a menu where you can choose to delete the conversation or block the bot entirely.

Overall, Snapchat’s new My AI feature adds a new dimension to the popular social media platform. With its ability to engage in natural language conversations and provide personalised recommendations, this innovative chatbot has the potential to become a key source of information for users.

There are risks associated with My AI, just as there are risks with any artificial intelligence model. One of the main concerns around My AI is that snapchat is widely accessed by teens, and the impact that chat based AI might have on teens is a hot topic.