Snapchat now has a standalone app for making gen AI augmented actuality results

Snapchat has been experimenting with generative AI-powered augmented actuality lenses in its app for the final couple years. Now, the corporate is permitting customers to make their very own with a brand new standalone app for making AR results.

Snap is introducing a brand new model of its Lens Studio software program that enables anybody to create AR lenses by textual content prompts and different easy enhancing instruments, and publish them on to Snapchat. So far, Lens Studio has solely been obtainable as a desktop app meant for builders and AR professionals. And whereas the brand new iOS app and internet model aren’t almost as highly effective, it presents a variety of face-altering and body-morphing results due to generative AI.

“These are experimental new instruments that make it simpler than ever to create, publish, and play with Snapchat Lenses made by you,” the corporate explains in a weblog put up. “Now, you’ll be able to generate your individual AI results, add your dancing Bitmoji to the enjoyable, and categorical your self with Lenses that mirror your temper or an inside joke–whether or not you’re on the go or close to your pc. “

Snap gave me an early have a look at the Lens Studio iOS app, and I used to be pleasantly stunned by how a lot flexibility it provided. There are AI-powered instruments for reworking your face, physique and background by way of detailed textual content prompts (the app additionally presents solutions of the sorts of prompts that work properly, like “detailed zombie head with large eyes and nostril, plenty of particulars.”)

There is a little bit of a studying curve to determining what works properly for every sort of impact, and a number of the generative AI prompts can take as much as 20 minutes to render. However the app additionally presents dozens of templates that you should use as a place to begin and remix with your individual concepts. You can too make less complicated face-altering filters that do not rely as closely AI however make the most of common Snapchat results like face cutouts or Bitmoji animations. (Just a few examples of my creations are beneath, each used AI to create a background I overlaid different results onto.)

Snap already has tons of of hundreds of lens creators, a few of whom have been making results for the app for years. However I can simply see this new, less complicated model of Lens Studio opening the door for a lot of extra. There may be some upside for creators hoping to make the most of Snapchat’s monetization applications: the corporate confirmed that customers who publish lenses from the brand new app shall be eligible to take part in its Lens Creator Rewards program, which pays creators who make common AR results.

A extra accessible model of Lens Studio might additionally assist Snap compete with Meta for AR expertise. (Meta shut down Spark AR, its platform that allowed creators to make AR for Instagram final yr.) Along with Snapchat’s in-app results, the corporate is now on its second era of standalone AR glasses. Extra just lately, Snap has centered on big-name builders to make glasses-ready results, however the firm has beforehand leaned on Lens Creators to give you attention-grabbing use circumstances for AR glasses. These varieties of integrations will possible require far more than what’s at the moment obtainable within the new pared-down model of Lens Studio, however making AR creation extra accessible (with the assistance of AI) raises some attention-grabbing potentialities for what would possibly at some point be potential for the corporate.

Jim Lanzone, the CEO of Engadget’s mum or dad firm Yahoo, joined the board of administrators at Snap on September 12, 2024. Nobody exterior of Engadget’s editorial group has any say in our protection of the corporate.