Snapchat Plans Major Revamp of App In Bid to Rival TikTok

In a major update, Snapchat is planning a wholesale revamp of its app, promising a “simple” interface, a number of generative artificial intelligence features, and — of particular interest to Hollywood — a unified video entertainment experience, which will combine creator-driven videos and professionally-produced “Spotlight” videos in one place.

The changes were announced at the Snap Partner Summit, held at the Barker Hanger in Los Angeles Tuesday.

The biggest change is the new Simple Snapchat, which VP of product Ceci Mourkogiannis said is currently in the testing phase. The Simple Snapchat is built around three things, she said: “Chatting, Snapping, and watching entertaining videos.”

“By simplifying the experience, we’re really doubling down on how people actually use their phones, chatting, making snaps, and watching content, which are the three main pages here,” says Jim Shepherd, Snapchat director of global creator and content partnerships, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “We really feel strongly that those behaviors really reinforce each other.”

The new experience, in addition to being paired down and simpler to use, also brings stories to the chat functionality, bringing a video experience to the place where users have conversations with friends, with Shepherd touting the “super powerful” nature of the chat functionality.

“Hundreds of millions of people are coming in every day, first and foremost, to talk to their friends, sometimes 30-40, times a day,” Shepherd says. “By bringing creator stories there, I think we’re really excited that this is going to be great for creators, and it’s going to be great for the brands that are buying ads in their story.”

“I think bringing content closer to communication is going to fuel a real flywheel for us,” he adds.

As an example, a user could be chatting with a friend, and could watch a video from a popular creator while they wait for their friend to reply.

And the unified video experience is a major change, bringing both creator and spotlight content together in one unified feed, based on user interest. It is a format that, frankly, sounds similar to the experience that TikTok offers, with creators intermingled with professional content producers, all delivered in an algorithmic experience.

“High level here, we’re really trying to make it easier for people to find content that they love. And it’s also going to make it easier for us to show the right content to the right people, so I think that unified content feed is going to be a real game changer for us,” Shepherd says. “I think what we’re really excited about here is it is all going to be one ranked feed, regardless of the format.”

“So like, if you love food content, for instance, then we’ll start to learn about your watching habits, and we’ll be able to show you content from one of our Snap Stars, who’s a chef,” Shepherd adds. “And then we’ll be able to show you shows from Tastemade for instance, or a New York Times article about food. So regardless of the format, we’re going to be able to show the right content to the right people across like genres.”

But no product update in 2024 would be complete without artificial intelligence capabilities, and Snapchat had quite a few bits of news on that front.

“No tech event in 2024 would be complete without an OpenAI partnership,” quipped Snap CEO Evan Spiegel during the keynote. “So we’ve worked closely with OpenAI to give developers access to powerful multimodal large language models. Soon, developers can use these tools to easily build Lenses that recognize objects around you and provide more context.”

Of course it has new lenses, including a “grandparents” lens that will let users see what they will look like decades in the future, and a lip syncing lens in partnership with Eminem. Snapchat will also bring AI Memories to Snapchat+ subscribers, with the AI operating as a “personal creative director” to their photos.

And My AI will be able to problem solve, i.e. explaining complicated parking signs, or translating a menu in a foreign language. Snapchat is also bringing generative AI tools to its Lens Studio, letting users create new lenses based on the AI tools.

But in another change that is sure to reverberate across the broader entertainment industry, Snapchat will also be able to soon create AI-generated video based on text or image prompts.

“We know it’s important for our community to be informed when AI is being used to generate content,” Mourkogiannis said. “So we use icons and context cards to let you know when a Snap is made with Snap AI.”

And, to end the summit, Spiegel took the stage to unveil a new version of Snapchat Spectacles, one that brings a more fully-realized augmented reality experience to the product for the first time.

The new Spectacles will be based on Snap OS, a new operating system “designed to enhance how people naturally interact with the world.”

“VR headsets are like sticking a laptop to your face. They’re isolating, make you feel motion sick, they’re really heavy, and they can be uncomfortable,” Spiegel said. “But AR glasses allow you to see the real world through Lenses. They allow you to share experiences together with your friends and family, and they’re lightweight and wearable.”

The new Spectacles can interact with each other, so multiple users wearing them can also see and engage with the same virtual objects, and they work with smartphones (unlike VR headsets you can see your phone through the lenses), so it can interact with apps, while people without lenses can use their phones to see what others are seeing in the glasses.

“Playing is way more fun with Spectacles. We have four boys at home so you can take my word for it,” Spiegel added. “You can make a huge mess without any cleanup. You can bring your imagination to life in an instant with Make Believe. Play classic board games like Chess together on the go, anywhere. And with Beat Boxer, you can stay active with your favorite tunes.”

Among other projects, Disney is working on a Star Wars experience for Spectacles, with Lego and Niantic Games also developing games and experiences. Spiegel said that developers who build software for Spectacles will not pay any developer tax to Snap, a move that contrasts to headsets made by other tech companies like Meta and Apple.