• by Colin Kirkland , May 30, 2023

After launching its controversial and widely criticized generative AI program, “My AI,” Snapchat is now testing a new way for users to play around with AI-creation through a feature the company is calling “Dreams.”

The “Dreams” project was unveiled by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi via a Twitter screenshot, which instructs users to “Upload several selfies to create your Dreams and generate fantastical Snaps of yourself!” followed by a button to “Generate My Dreams.”

It is a similar concept to “My AI,” which invites users to chat with an AI bot and ask questions, as if it were a friend. However, “Dreams” apparently will rely solely on images, using generative AI technology to deliver otherworldly scenes instead of written answers.

The move may be a bold one for Snapchat, considering that the launch of its “My AI” virtual chatbot resulted in Snapchatters leaving a record amount of one-star reviews, with many threatening to leave the app altogether.

The chatbot was also criticized for violating user privacy on the app and delivering inappropriate answers -- unprompted -- to younger users.

In other ways, “Dreams” may be a stepping stone to what Snapchat wants to deliver its users via generative AI: video.

“We're just getting started,” Snap President-Americas Rob Wilk said at the company's recent Newfront presentation. “We're testing ways My AI can help bring Snapchatters mobile video, including from some partners in this room, but it's powered by what we call 'conversational intent.'”