Snapchat’s rollout of its ‘My AI‘ GPT-powered chatbot element to all users has not been well-received and overwhelmingly received negative reviews, with its average US App Store review dropping from 3.05 to 1.67, and 75% of reviews being one-star.
My AI enables users to chat with an AI entity and have it answer questions, with the chat now pinned to the top of all user inboxes in the app.
This has caused backlash from users who don’t appreciate platforms messing with their private chats, something that Meta has been grappling with for years.
Chat Feature Sparks User Backlash
Snapchat has recently come under fire for its new My AI chat feature, which has been embedded into users’ personal inboxes. Many users have expressed their dissatisfaction with the feature, leaving one-star reviews and threatening to pull their five-star endorsements.
The main issue is that there is no way to remove the My AI chat from the top of the inbox display, which many users find intrusive.
As a result, Snapchat has seen a spike in negative reviews and criticism from users who feel that their privacy is being violated. Snapchat is now facing the challenge of addressing user concerns and finding a way to make the My AI chat more acceptable to its users.
‘My AI’ Privacy Concern
While some users have welcomed the feature, others have raised concerns about the amount of information it can reveal about their location and personal details. The placement of the feature has been the most problematic, as it has been randomly inserted into conversations, causing annoyance to many users.
This is a challenge that other messaging apps, such as WhatsApp and Messenger, have also been facing as they seek to monetize private messaging. As such, it is important for Snapchat to consider the user experience when introducing new features, and to ensure that they are placed in a way that does not disrupt the user experience.
‘My AI’: The Next Meta’s Messenger?
Meta’s attempt to add Messenger Bots, games, and other elements to its messaging app in 2016 failed due to users not wanting to be distracted from their personal communications. People generally use messaging apps to send messages to their contacts, and the addition of ads and other functionalities was seen as intrusive. As a result, Meta eventually shelved these features in favor of simplicity.
Meta’s Future Plans
Meta, an app that aims to be an ‘everything app’, has recently added a My AI feature that allows users to access AI-powered services. However, this has been met with resistance from users in the West, who prefer to keep their messaging experiences confined to personal chats.
This could be a challenge for Elon Musk’s ambitions of creating an ‘everything app’, as Western users are not yet ready to embrace additional functionality in their messaging apps. WeChat in China, however, has become a critical connector in almost all aspects of daily life, showing that there is potential for such an app in the West.
Challenges in Achieving Mass Adoption of Expanded Use
Elon Musk‘s vision of turning Twitter into an app that allows users to conduct daily activities like paying bills and booking tickets is a great idea, but it faces a key challenge in getting mass adoption.
People are generally resistant to functionalities that encroach on more private elements, and this is a key challenge in shifting embedded behaviors, especially in more privacy-focused elements.
Snap’s solution to this challenge is to give users a way to unpin the My AI chat, so they no longer see it. This could be a potential solution to the challenge of getting mass adoption of expanded use, but it remains to be seen if it will be successful.
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