The verdict on Snapchat’s “My AI” feature from its users is in, and it’s not positive. Snapchat’s new AI chatbot, powered by OpenAI’s GPT technology, was released to worldwide users last week after being available solely to subscribers. It is featured prominently on the app’s Chat page, where users can pose questions and get immediate replies. Since the chatbot was released to the whole Snapchat community, the number of complaints about the app has increased significantly.
Snapchat’s ‘My AI’ Received Bad Reviews
Sensor Tower, an app analytics company, reports that over the previous week, the average rating for Snapchat in the U.S. App Store was 1.67 out of 5 stars, with 75% of evaluations being one star. The average rating for Snapchat in the United States on the App Store in Q1 2023 was 3.05 out of 5, with just 35% of reviews being one star.
The company also found that the quantity of daily reviews has multiplied by a factor of five in the last week.
Apptopia, another app data supplier, notes the same pattern. An examination of the last week’s reviews on Snapchat’s App Store page reveals that the term “AI” has been cited 2,973 times, making it the most often used keyword. The “Impact Score” assigned by the company to the phrase is -9.2. The Impact Score is a numeric value from -10 to +10 that represents a certain phrase’s influence on public opinion.
Apptopia also reported that on April 20, 2023, there were around three times as many one-star reviews for Snapchat as normal. That was the day after it was revealed that My AI would be available worldwide.
There has been a recent decline in one-star ratings, although the overall percentage is still high.
Why Is The Response So Bad?
Snap’s My AI has received criticism just as the AI hype cycle begins to turn. Businesses are debating how to use AI rather than whether or not they should.
An increasing number of AI chatbot applications are flooding app stores, raking in millions of dollars, which may indicate rising consumer demand for social AI chat experiences; Snap would have been wise to include one in its social app.
Many Snapchatters are unhappy with the addition of My AI, which was implemented without their knowledge or agreement.
The location of the chatbot is a source of some anxiety.
My AI chat is always shown at the top of the Chat stream inside the app and cannot be hidden, erased, or banned. This is where users’ normal interactions with friends on Snapchat take place; thus, it could be a better location to experiment with new tools. Some users may feel as if Snapchat is trying to double the amount of screen real estate it already claims by adding its own “Team Snapchat” conversations to this feed.
It’s easy to search social media and discover people griping about My AI. For instance, a Twitter search for “My AI” will return several relevant results. Snapchat is also receiving feedback from users in the form of complaints.
Users Formally Complain
Users went to the comments after Snap’s Partner Summit event last week, when the new chatbot was announced, to air their complaints.
Users have completely panned Snap’s AI bot in hundreds of replies to the company’s post. They argue that it shouldn’t be obligatory but rather optional or that they should be allowed to disable it. In their frustration, some Snapchatters have even threatened to uninstall the app forever.
Many people also complain that you need a Snapchat+ membership to get rid of the My AI from your Chat stream. Snap claims that only Snapchat+ users will be able to unpin or delete My AI from their Chats and access beta versions of upcoming My AI features before anybody else.
It’s frustrating for users who feel they have no choice but to compensate Snapchat for the inconvenience caused by adding the function.
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Feature Image Source: Photo by Snapchat
