Snap Opens AI Chatbot to All Users

Snap Inc. has opened its AI-powered chatbot to all users, the latest sign of the technology’s rapid expansion.

The social media company launched My AI in February as a premium service, but announced Wednesday (April 19) that the artificial intelligence (AI) technology was getting a global rollout.

With that expansion comes new tools, Snap said, such as the ability to personalize the AI and to bring it into conversation with a user’s friends.

“My AI is far from perfect, but we’ve made a lot of progress. For example, 99.5% percent of My AI responses conform to our community guidelines,” Snap said.

The company added it has improved the technology by programming My AI to adhere to its community guidelines and block inappropriate or harmful responses. They’ve also added an “age signal” with the user’s birthdate, so the chatbot takes their age into account.

In addition, the company says it will soon incorporate My AI into its parental tools “which will allow caregivers to see if their teens are chatting with My AI and how often.”

Meanwhile, Snap is adding to its augmented reality (AR) offerings with the debut of AR Mirrors, which brings “the power and creativity of AR to businesses in their own physical spaces and events,” the company said in a separate announcement Wednesday.

That means customers at those businesses can virtually try on products, “play with engaging and fun experiences that encourage them to create and share content,” and get guides and explanations to learn more about the items they see in the store.

Snap says at least two retailers — Nike and Men’s Warehouse — are using the tool. The company is also working with Coca-Cola on an AR-enabled vending machine.

As PYMNTS wrote last week, Snap has been “instrumental in promoting the adoption of AR commerce, having invested in AR for over a decade,” and boasting that more than 250 million users engage with AR on its platform each day.

It recently rolled out its “Shopping Suite” that includes a range of try-on and sizing tools tailored for retail, particularly for clothing, footwear and eyewear.

The company’s AR tools have been used by retailers such as Prada and American Eagle, letting their customers virtually “try on” and buy sunglasses and sneakers, in most cases right on the Snapchat app.