Snapchat My AI

Snapchat My AI is an AI-powered chatbot integrated directly into the Snapchat messaging platform. Launched in February 2023 initially for Snapchat+ subscribers and rolled out to all users by April 2023, My AI is powered by OpenAI’s GPT technology (with some references also mentioning Google’s Gemini models) and customised specifically for Snapchat’s user base. It was designed as an “experimental, friendly chatbot” to serve as a virtual sidekick, helping users with tasks like answering trivia, offering advice, planning trips, and providing recommendations.

By mid-2023, just months after its full release, My AI had already been used by over 150 million people who sent over 10 billion messages, making it one of the largest consumer chatbots available. However, its integration into a platform popular with teenagers (over 20% of Snapchat users are aged 13-17) has sparked significant controversy and scrutiny from privacy regulators like the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which expressed concerns about potential privacy risks for children.

Features and Functionality

My AI combines conversational AI with Snapchat’s social features:

• Conversational Chat Interface: Functions like a friendly contact within users’ chat feed, allowing for text-based conversations on virtually any topic, from homework help to mental health support.

• Personalisation & Customisation: Users can give the chatbot a custom name, design a unique Bitmoji avatar for it, and bring it into conversations with friends, making interactions feel less transactional than with other AI chatbots.

• Real-World Recommendations: Leverages user data, including location (if shared and consented to), to provide personalised recommendations for restaurants, travel, shopping, and activities.

• Multimodal Inputs: Can respond to more than just text; it can also process images and voice notes sent by users, allowing for a more inclusive experience.

• Creative & Entertainment Tools: Can generate poems, song lyrics, story ideas, and art inspiration. It has been used in millions of conversations for creative purposes.

• Snapchat Ecosystem Integration: Pinned to the top of users’ chat feeds by default and integrated into other parts of the app, like search results and suggested contacts.

• Parental Controls (Family Centre): Parents who connect with their teens via Snapchat’s Family Centre can now restrict their teen’s access to My AI, preventing it from processing their queries.

Pros & Cons Table

Overall Rating

2.8 / 5 ★★☆☆☆

Snapchat My AI is a deeply flawed yet widely accessible AI experiment. Its strength lies in its seamless integration and creative utility for Snapchat’s massive user base. However, it is severely undermined by significant privacy risks, an inability for most users to opt out, and a proven track record of generating harmful and biased content, particularly dangerous for its large adolescent audience. While recent parental controls are a positive step, the fundamental issues with their design and implementation make it difficult to recommend without extreme caution.

Key Reviews with Links

1. Common Sense Media (2024) – Highly Critical

   • Verdict: “Risky generative AI chatbot… presents itself as a ‘virtual friend’.” The review highlights pervasive biased responses, privacy loopholes, and concerns that it pulls users away from human connection. It concludes that the downsides currently outweigh the benefits.

2. BBC News (2023) – Mixed with Concerns

   • Verdict: “Introduced to mixed reviews.” Reports on user backlash over its prominence and privacy, including “review bombing” of the app. Notes Snap’s concession that the tool may not always be accurate and could produce harmful content.

3. CNN (2023) – Critical & Exploratory

   • Verdict: “Raising alarms among teens and parents.” The article quotes psychologists and parents concerned about the blurring of lines between human and machine interactions for teenagers and the potential for the AI to reinforce negative beliefs.

4. Snap Newsroom (2023) – Official & Promotional

   • Verdict: “Over 150 million people have sent over 10 billion messages.” This press release highlights massive adoption and popular use cases like pet advice (25M+ convos) and restaurant recommendations (5M+ convos).

Summary: Key Points

• 🏆 Core Function: An AI chatbot fully integrated into the Snapchat Chat feed, powered by OpenAI’s GPT technology and designed to be a personalised, conversational assistant.

• 🚨 Biggest Controversy: Its inability to be removed by non-paying users and serious privacy concerns raised by data watchdogs, especially regarding the protection of teenagers’ data.

• 🎯 Ideal For:

  • Snapchat users looking for a quick, integrated tool for casual brainstorming, light entertainment, and getting recommendations.

  • Not ideal for users seeking reliable information or critical advice or those concerned about data privacy.

• ⚠️ Critical Considerations:

  • Never share sensitive personal information with My AI, as all conversations are stored and may be reviewed by Snap and used for ad personalisation.

  • Do not rely on it for accurate or unbiased information; it frequently generates incorrect, harmful, or stereotyped responses.

  • Parents should actively use Family Centre to restrict their teen’s access to the tool and have open conversations about its limitations and risks.

• 🔧 Management: To delete conversation history, users must manually go to Settings > Privacy Controls > Clear Data > Clear My AI Data. This does not remove the chatbot itself.

• 👥 Impact on Teens: The tool’s “friendly” design risks replacing human interaction with parasocial AI relationships, a significant concern for developing adolescents.