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Snapchat is the first social media giant to build a ChatGPT-powered chatbot into its app, with the messaging platform calling the new feature “My AI.”
According to Snap, the new chatbot uses the latest version of OpenAI’s GPT technology (the GPT-3.5 model) and is an “experimental feature” for paying Snapchat Plus subscribers (a service that costs $3.99 / £3.99 / AU$5.99 per month).
So what can it do? Given the many recent examples of Microsoft’s ChatGPT-powered Bing search engine going off the rails, Snap wisely put some guardrails in place by training it to “avoid biased, inaccurate, harmful, or misleading information.” It’s also primarily designed to help organize your social life and boost your Snapchat game.
Some examples of things My AI can help with include planning your walking tour, recommending birthday gift ideas, suggesting recipes for dinner, and, for Japanese verse fans, writing a haiku about cheese for your cheddar-obsessed friend”. That all certainly sounds a bit more family-friendly than watching Bing go through an existential crisis.
Still, Snap also braces for mistakes and has done so apologized in advance (opens in new tab) for My AI’s own clangers. It says that “My AI is prone to hallucinations and can be tricked into saying just about anything,” which sounds concerning. Snap also tells users to “be aware of the many shortcomings and apologize in advance” for the potential errors.
Unlike Bing’s ChatGPT powered chatbot, My AI is customizable – you can name it and also customize the background for your chat sessions. But despite this cuddly exterior, the AI helper is likely to go very wrong – with Snap claiming you can press and hold on any message to provide feedback and help guide it towards better behavior.
Analysis: A taste of future social chatbots
The arrival of a ChatGPT powered helper on Snapchat isn’t as earth-shattering as an equivalent feature would be on the likes of Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram or TikTok – after all, Snapchat is on its own tenth on the list of social media sites (opens in new tab) in terms of globally active users.
But it does give us an interesting glimpse of how ChatGPT (or an equivalent chatbot technology) can be baked into some of the world’s most popular apps. For example, imagine an equal sidekick in Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp groups. Meta did recently announced (opens in new tab) its own “state-of-the-art AI large language model called LLaMA”, so that could well be coming.
The advent of chatbots in social media and messaging apps also raises privacy concerns. Snap is keen to stress that “all conversations with My AI are stored and can be reviewed to improve the product experience,” and that you “shouldn’t share secrets with My AI” or “rely on it for advice.”
Those are all big disclaimers that show where we stand with AI chatbots – while they’re fun sidekicks that could work well in the likes of Snapchat, they’re also far from the omniscient sages they claim to be.