Snapchat is introducing its first video-generating AI lens, the company told TechCrunch exclusively. The lens is equipped with a generated video model built in-house by SNAP. Three new AI video lenses are available to users of Snapchat Platinum, the app's premium subscription layer.
The launch will be on sale as SNAP announced its AI video generation tool at its Partner Summit last September. A spokesman for SNAP said that the new AI video lens of this underlying technology will utilize later versions.
SNAP is considered a leader in AR, but along with almost every other tech company, they have invested in AI over the past few years. With these new AI video lenses, SNAP is embracing AI to stay competitive, offering users features that are not yet available on rival platforms such as Instagram and Tiktok.
Snapchat started with three AI video lenses at launch, but more will be added every week. The first lenses include “raccoon” and “fox”. The third “Spring Flower” lens produces a zoom-out effect that reveals that the snapper has a bouquet.
Image credit: Snap
You can access the new lens through the lens carousel. You can then select the lens and then snap and capture either the front or rear camera. AI video is generated and saved automatically in memory.
“Equipped with in-house built-in video models, these lenses bring some of the most cutting-edge AI tools available for snapchatter via familiar lens formats,” the company wrote in a blog post. “We have a long history of being the first mover to bring advanced AR, ML and AI tools directly to our community, and we look forward to what Snapchatters creates.”
As Snapchat points out, it makes sense to bring generated AI into the lens, as it is a format that users have been accepting for years.
SNAP has tapped Openai and Google's AI tools in the past to enhance some of its capabilities, but now it has built its own in-house model.
Last month, the company announced a research model from AI text to image on mobile devices that will enhance some of Snapchat's capabilities over the coming months. Snap said at the time that implementing in-house technology could provide high-quality AI tools for the community at lower operating costs.