AI, AR and new design: Snapchat optimizes the app experience

Snapchat has long since ceased to be an app that is used solely for private communication between friends. The number of creators who post publicly has more than tripled in the past year: a total of almost ten billion snaps have been added to stories, which have been viewed over six trillion times. Now, as part of the Snap Partner Summit 2024, the platform has announced numerous innovations that are intended to optimize the app experience. We will present the most important innovations below.

Private or public? Both!

Many Snapchat users use both a private and a public account to communicate with friends and to reach out to a wider audience. A new and simplified profile design should make switching between profiles easier. Creators also have the option to personalize their public profile by pinning their favorite snaps at the top.

There is also an update for communication between creators and their followers. The latter can use the reply and quote function to react directly to creators’ snaps or comment on them publicly. Creators can now integrate these messages directly into an image or video reply. This is intended to strengthen the exchange on Snapchat, which already counts almost 15 billion interactions between creators and fans every day.

Spotlight and Public Stories are merged

Not only the profile, but also the rest of the app’s design has been given a makeover. Probably the biggest change: the spotlight area and public stories have been merged. The new view is based on a unified recommendation system and is intended to make the user experience more personal. Videos from friends, but also content that corresponds to the user’s interests, self-shared content and trends from the user’s environment are displayed in priority.

Another new feature is that the camera opens when the app is opened, so users can take and share a snap if they need to. While these new features are likely to improve the app experience for users, the platform recently caused discontent with another update.

Sponsored Snaps:
Snapchat shocks users with advertising in chat

Snapchat now has over 850 million monthly active users and the Snapchat+ subscription model, with which the platform generates significant revenue, already has more than eleven million users. But despite the increase in revenue in the second quarter of this year, sales fell short of expectations. This is likely the reason why the company is now forced to restructure the app and offer more solutions that boost sales – such as Sponsored Snaps. Accordingly, the merger of Spotlight and Public Stories could also aim to make sponsored content more visible.

Big AI update: These are Easy Lens and My Selfie

Over four million published lenses, created by more than 375,000 developers and creators – when it comes to AR, hardly any platform can hold a candle to Snapchat. AI is also being used more and more frequently on the platform. Snapchat has now introduced a function that combines both areas: With Easy Lens, creators can create their own lenses in just a few moments. This is done by entering text in the chat, for which Large Language Models (LLMs) are used. This means that both experienced AR creators and newcomers can create their own AR experiences.

The new My Selfie feature is also exciting: This allows users to create AI-generated images based on self-uploaded selfies; if necessary, together with friends. It is unclear whether these images are automatically marked as AI-generated – if not, there is a risk of misinformation.

Do you want even more Snapchat insights? In an interview with OnlineMarketing.de, Ardawan Okhovat, Partnerships Lead DACH at Snap Inc., reveals which metrics are really important on the platform and how you can get more reach.

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