Taking a step further to expand into the world of generative AI, Snapchat is now developing “Dreams”, a new AI-powered feature.
According to app developer and researcher Steve Moser, the company has been working on features that would enable the app to generate new pictures of its users in imaginary scenarios based on selfies they take or upload on the app.
Snapchat’s AI chatbot My AI is already capable of responding with a snap back when Snapchat+ users send snaps of what they are up to. While the new feature “Dreams” works with visual content, too, the function is quite different.
What’s Innovative About Dreams?
Snapchat’s new generative AI feature isn’t entirely a new concept – a number of AI photo apps on the app stores already serve similar functions. Remini, for instance, is a popular app that generates professional-looking headshots using regular selfies, saving users the cost of a professional photoshoot.
The feature that sets Dreams apart from other such apps, however, is its ability to place pictures of its users in “fantastical places and scenarios”, according to Moser.
The feature not only generates a picture of you but also generates the scenario you imagine for it. For the feature to work properly, users will have to provide clear selfies with no other individuals in it.
The person’s features need to be completely unobstructed in the photos, which should ideally be taken at various angles and lighting conditions with different poses and facial expressions. This, however, is the case for most such AI photo apps that generate pictures using actual selfies.
Snapchat is also working on another feature based on its new AI photo generator – Dream with Friends. It serves the same purpose as Dreams, except that it allows users to generate such “Dream” images with up to two of their friends included.
For this, users must obtain permission from their friends before including them in the AI-generated images.
The feature was first discovered by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi this spring. He also noticed that Snapchat had placed the new feature in a prominent position between the Camera Roll and Stories.
Based on references to purchasing “Dream Packs” on the Snapchat app, we have sufficient reason to believe that Dreams will likely be a paid feature. Snapchat will possibly monetize the collaborative AI-generated visuals, just like it monetized My AI by making it a Snapchat+ feature.
It remains to be seen if Dreams will turn out to be a new major revenue source for Snapchat, but based on its innovative capabilities, the feature seems to have potential.
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Krishi Chowdhary
Journalist
