Snapchat announced that its ‘My AI’ GPT-powered chatbot element would be rolled out to all users, expanding from being a Snapchat+ subscriber-only feature.- Synopsis.
“Over the past week, Snapchat’s average US App Store review was 1.67, with 75% of reviews being one-star, according to data from app intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
For comparison, across Q1 2023, the Snapchat average U.S. App Store review was 3.05, with only 35% of reviews being one-star.”Five-star reviews have also spiked, but TechCrunch notes that many of these are also critical of My AI
The main issue seems to be that the My AI chat has been embedded into their personal inbox, the space where most Snap users interact. That, to some, feels intrusive, and there’s no way to actually remove the My AI chat from the top of your inbox display.
Snap users are highly connected to the app, with many using it as their primary platform for personal interactions. With this in mind, you can see why the random insertion of My AI is an annoyance, while some users have also raised concerns about the AI element itself, and the amount of information that it’s been able to reveal about their location, personal details, etc.
Back in 2016, Meta added Messenger Bots as a means to encourage people to interact with brands, and other entities in the app. It failed, while subsequent efforts to add in games, and other elements, have also been viewed negatively, and eventually shelved in favor of simplicity.
Which is a far cry from China, where apps like WeChat have become a critical connector in almost all aspects of daily life. Meta, and others, have tried to translate this expanded usage to Western markets, but thus far, western users have shown little inclination towards additional functionality – though WhatsApp is now increasingly being used for certain business dealings, an element that’s been slowly growing over time.
The solution in Snap’s case will likely be as simple as giving users a way to unpin the My AI chat, so they no longer see it – but the case underlines a broader challenge in shifting embedded behaviors, especially in more privacy-focused elements.
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