At the recently concluded Snap Partner Summit, Snap (the parent company of Snapchat) unveiled an exciting new feature – "Easy Lens".
This feature is truly remarkable, as it can transform simple English descriptions into Snapchat's augmented reality (AR) lenses. By inputting the desired effect in Snap's developer platform, Lens Studio, Easy Lens utilizes generative AI models to automatically create a unique lens for you. This initiative undoubtedly lowers the barriers to creation, allowing more people to easily participate in lens production.
In addition to "Easy Lens", Snap also introduced a new tool – "Body Morph". This tool can create 3D characters, clothing, and accessories based on user text descriptions or reference images, which is truly eye-catching. Moreover, Lens Studio is soon to launch an image generator specifically for creating lens icons, as well as hundreds of animations for Snapchat's personalized emojis, Bitmoji. These animations can also be combined using the newly introduced mixing feature, allowing users to create more vivid and interesting expressions.
Snap plans to continue adding more generative AI features in Lens Studio, including a custom animation generator and a new tool that allows creators to upload a video of an object, which the software will automatically reconstruct into a 3D model. These innovations will further enrich Snap's augmented reality ecosystem, providing creators with more possibilities.
Snap's CEO, Evan Spiegel, emphasized in a recent memo that generative AI is a "transformative" technology for Snap. He mentioned that AI lenses have become one of the most popular lenses on Snapchat. Through local models, Snap will be able to achieve faster generation and lower costs, making the user's creative experience even smoother.
As of this month, Snap revealed that the number of creators on the platform has grown to 375,000, a significant increase from the 330,000 in the same period last year. Meanwhile, the total number of lenses has also increased from 3.5 million to 4 million, indicating a continuous rise in platform activity.
However, Snap also faces some challenges. The recently released third-quarter earnings report showed that the company's performance fell short of market expectations, mainly due to the softness in the advertising market. As a company almost entirely dependent on advertising revenue, Snap's recent market performance has also been affected.
Evan Spiegel mentioned in the memo that in addition to continuing to explore new applications of generative AI, Snap also plans to test several new advertising formats to attract more advertisers' interest, and to launch a "simplified" version of the Snapchat app to enhance user experience.
Key Points:
🌟 Snap introduces "Easy Lens" feature, allowing users to generate AR lenses through simple descriptions.
🛠️ New "Body Morph" tool added, capable of creating 3D characters and clothing based on descriptions.
📈 Creator numbers rise to 375,000, total lens count reaches 4 million, showcasing platform vitality.