Snap Unveils Generative AI Assistance for AR Creation

Snapchat’s adding some new generative A.I. elements to its Lens creation tools, which could be a big step towards democratizing A.R. creation, and facilitating all new types of experiences in digital environments.

First off, Snap’s got a new generative A.I. Lens tool that can digitally transport you into any scene you describe.

Yeah, it looks a bit messy, like multiple generative A.I. images overlaid on top of each other. But technologically, it’s a significant advance, in enabling real time rendering of A.I. generated visuals that you can interact with.

As per Snap:

“This milestone of running GenAI models in real-time on mobile devices is made possible by our team’s breakthroughs to optimize faster, more performant GenAI techniques. Our team of researchers and engineers is constantly innovating to make GenAI faster and lighter, so our Snapchat community can create and communicate with their friends on the go.”

So while it may look a little jerky and unstable right now, the fact that this is even possible is another step towards facilitating real-time A.R. creation, via simplified prompts.

And it’s only going to get better, and the possibilities are massive with this type of development.

Though this may be an even bigger update:

As you can see in this example, Snap’s also adding generative A.I. prompts to Lens Studio, which will enable A.R. creators to build custom models based on conversational queries.

This has always been one of the key impediments in A.R. creation, in that it requires a level of technical knowledge to be able to put together truly unique A.R. experiences. But now, Snap’s taking another step towards democratizing A.R. creation, which will give more people the opportunity to create interactive, engaging A.R. experiences in the app.

Which will also eventually lead into V.R. as well, in enabling anyone to generate their own immersive V.R. experience, by simply speaking it into existence. The potential here is huge, and it’ll be interesting to see how helpful Snap’s new A.R. prompts can be.

The updates are part of Snap’s broader Lens Studio 5.0 release, which sees significant improvements to Snap’s Lens creation process.

“The rebuilt Lens Studio is designed for productivity, modularity, and speed. Lens Studio now features a plugin system that enables developers to extend Editor capabilities to fit their needs. It’s also a more supportive platform for team development and advanced creation, with extensive support for JavaScript, TypeScript, Version Control, and package management.”

Snapchat’s Lens Studio 5.0 is now live, providing more capacity for creators to build new experiences within Snap’s tools.

These are significant updates, which could get overlooked, but shouldn’t be underrated in terms of their potential impact. The capacity to create immersive A.R. experiences via simple prompts is huge, and it could lead to a whole new wave of A.R. creation, from a broad range of creators.

And for brands, it may also provide all-new avenues to build your own unique customer experiences.