Snapchat has said it is testing sponsored links in conversations to connect users with its partners. — AFP Relaxnews
Four months after the launch of “My AI”, Snapchat wondered what users might be talking about with this AI-powered chatbot. It turns out that this “virtual friend” has been talking a lot about cars, sports, fashion and beauty. It has also helped users organise vacations, dining out and birthday parties.
Snapchat caused a stir in February 2023 by introducing "My AI", a virtual buddy powered by artificial intelligence. After its first few months of use, the social network is already pleased with the number of conversations conducted with the chatbot. According to Snapchat data collected on June 11, over 150 million people have sent more than 10 billion messages to "My AI."
The platform looked specifically at its communities in France, the US, the UK and India to determine user usage, evaluating a sample of messages sent between April 23 and May 21 this year and extrapolating to 10 billion total conversations as of May 31, 2023.
The insights show that users turned to "My AI" for inspiration in a variety of fields. Almost 6 million conversations concerned art and design, almost 2 million conversations were about organising a birthday party, wedding or baby shower, while 4 million were used to help users find advice on playing guitar and writing songs.
A search tool?
As with TikTok, people used the "My AI" chatbot like a search platform. Indeed, Snapchat reports that approximately 5 million conversations were asking for recommendations for top tourist destinations, while almost one million conversations were about hotels or other travel accommodations. Snapchat also notes that over 1 million conversations helped users plan a trip to Disneyland, Disney World or other theme parks.
Tourism isn't the only topic on which users have sought the chatbot's help. They also turned to this virtual companion to find restaurant recommendations, to the tune of some 5 million conversations. Many users were looking for recipe ideas, the subject of over 3 million conversations, especially healthy ideas, with 2 million conversations about healthy meals and snacks. Over 1 million conversations were about smoothies, smoothie bowls and tea recommendations.
Major food brands also generated large numbers of conversations. McDonald's and Starbucks racked up over 5 million and almost 1.5 million conversations, respectively.
Beauty was another hot topic. More than 12 million conversations with "My AI" helped users search for recommendations in the fields of skincare, makeup, hand beauty, perfume and more. And almost 11 million conversations concerned hair care recommendations.
Apart from traveling, eating and personal care, users were interested in their education. They sought information on schools and universities (over 5 million conversations), and even sought to educate themselves by discussing historical events such as the Cold War, the Industrial Revolution, the two World Wars and Queen Elizabeth, totaling over 1 million conversations.
The most-discussed topics
Fashion was among the most-discussed topics between the chatbot and users. More than 16 million conversations touched on this subject. Animals (more than 25 million conversations), largely dominated by dogs (12 million conversations) versus cats (7.5 million conversations), were another hot topic of conversation with the artificial intelligence chatbot.
Conversations about cars totaled 65 million, according to Snapchat. Sports also dominated discussions, with over 46 million conversations about soccer.
Finally, entertainment continues to be a favorite subject for internet users, who held over 10 million conversations to discuss entertainment and celebrity news. Netflix alone was the subject of almost 4 million conversations, and over 1.5 million specifically talked about Stranger Things.
According to Snapchat, Grey’s Anatomy, South Park and Eurovision were among the most popular shows for "My AI" chat, among over 2 million conversations about TV shows. – AFP Relaxnews
