In a world where Google’s AI chatbot can turn your selfie into anything you desire using Nano Banana, you have got to ask – what is Snapchat doing? It turns out that Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, has been hard at work to give its loyal fan base the ultimate filter that can go mad about – Imagine Lens.
Imagine Lens is said to be Snapchat’s first open-prompt image-generation AI tool available for free to all users in the United States. Unlike previous releases, this AI filter is available for free to everyone as a mass-market tool, not a premium subscription thing only.
The Imagine Lens lets users transform their Snaps or create entirely new images by simply entering a text prompt. Unlike previous Lenses that offered preset effects, this Imagine Lens tool allows for highly custom creations.
Snapchat Imagine Lens filter comes to everyone for free
For example, you can ask the Imagine Lens tool to “turn me into a Star Wars Stormtrooper” after taking a selfie. You can also command it to generate a whimsical image of a “cute dog.” Snapchat hopes its userbase to go all-in on creativity, letting them experiment with ideas like Halloween costumes or new looks before sharing the results with friends, posting to Stories, or exporting them outside the platform.
The open rollout comes less than two months after the Imagine Lens filter initially launched in September as a premium offering for Lens+ and Snapchat Platinum subscribers. Snap’s decision to drop the paywall for free users is seen as a way to improve user engagement. That said, free-tier users could be limited to a select number of AI generations.
Is Snapchat facing the AI heat?
The decision to release a generative AI filter for free users comes in the wake of Meta and OpenAI releasing their Gen AI imaging and video tools. Following the viral popularity of Google’s Gemini Nano Banana trend, tools like Sora and Meta AI are now upping their game in a bid to engage the younger crowd with cool new AI tools.
Snapchat confirms the Imagine Lens can be found near the front of the in-app Lens Carousel or by searching its name. Following the US launch, the company has announced plans to release the AI filter to additional international markets, including Canada, the UK, and Australia.
