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ChatGPT is powering a new kind of Snapchat lens

ChatGPT is powering a new kind of Snapchat lens

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A handful of new capabilities for developers were announced on Thursday at Snap’s AR event.

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The Snapchat ghost icon in white, on a rust red and black background
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Snapchat will soon have AR lenses that use ChatGPT. The company announced the update today at Lens Fest, its annual developer event.

The new beta of Lens Studio for developers includes the ability to create filters with ChatGPT. In an example lens, Snap shows a solar system-themed filter where a user has asked, “How far away is Neptune?” Within a few seconds, the lens returns an answer to the question. The new feature could also be applied to create quizzes or randomizers, according to TechCrunch.

A Snapchat lens featuring ChatGPT-powered question and answer format.
Snap’s AI lenses are powered by ChatGPT.
Image: Snap

OpenAI’s ChatGPT already powers another Snap feature called My AI, a chatbot that users can talk to like they’re messaging a friend. Originally an exclusive feature for paying Snapchat Plus subscribers, the company made My AI free for anyone to use this spring and has experimented with adding ads in the chatbot’s responses. The feature has been subject to a “preliminary enforcement notice” from UK group in charge of protecting users’ data rights.

AI-powered creation tools are springing up across platforms — YouTube, Meta, and TikTok have all announced features like photo editing and filters that rely on generative AI. Meta’s AI chatbots, announced in September, include celebrities like MrBeast and Kendall Jenner acting as the faces of AI characters. TikTok has also introduced a way to flag content as being created using AI tools, perhaps anticipating that AI-generated content will only increase as time goes on.

Snap also says lens developers will be able to use a new 3D face mask generator to create generative AI face lenses. The new developer tools announced include the ability for multiple people to work on projects at the same time.