Snap Integrates Google’s AI to Enhance Snapchat Chatbot

Snap Inc. has announced a new partnership with Alphabet Inc.’s Google to integrate Google’s generative AI model, Gemini, into its popular AI-powered chatbot, My AI. This collaboration aims to boost engagement on Snapchat, with the goal of increasing the time users spend on the app.^[1]  

Snap has been actively developing AI features to stay competitive, especially with larger rivals like Meta Platforms Inc., which also employs its own AI chatbot. On the other hand, Google has been working to attract corporate clients to its Gemini AI model.

Snap has recently adopted Google’s Gemini AI due to its advanced multimodal capabilities, which allow it to process video, audio, and text simultaneously. This multimodal feature aligns well with Snapchat’s user base, which often communicates through videos and images in addition to text, according to Snap CEO Evan Spiegel.

With Gemini’s capabilities, Snap aims to create a more integrated experience that reflects how Snapchat users naturally communicate.

Since Snap began using Gemini earlier this year, the company has reported a threefold increase in engagement from users sending images and videos to the AI chatbot.

Snap is already a customer of Google’s cloud-computing services, which support Snapchat’s operations for its 850 million monthly active users who send billions of photos and videos each year.

Both Snap and Google have implemented safeguards to monitor and restrict the types of responses the chatbot can provide, acknowledging the potential risks.

Looking ahead, Snap is considering using Gemini for its other products, including Spectacles, the company’s augmented reality smart glasses.