Snap Unveils AI-Powered Video Generation Tool for Creators

At its annual Snap Partner Summit on Tuesday, Snapchat unveiled an innovative AI video-generation tool designed for creators. This exciting tool will empower select users to generate videos using text prompts, with support for image prompts coming soon.

Beginning today, the tool is available in beta on the web for a limited group of creators. Currently, Snap has no plans to extend access to users beyond this creator cohort.

Although specific details were not disclosed during the keynote, a Snap spokesperson informed us that this AI video tool utilizes Snap's proprietary foundational video models. “We recognize the importance of transparency when it comes to AI-generated content,” stated Ceci Mourkogiannis, Snap’s Vice President of Product. “That’s why we employ icons and context cards to inform users when a Snap is created with Snap AI.”

All videos produced with Snap AI Video will feature a watermark, which will remain visible even when the content is downloaded and shared. A representative from Snap assured that the company conducts thorough safety evaluations and testing on its models to avoid the creation of harmful content. Additionally, they have implemented safety measures throughout the model training, prompt creation, and output stages.

This announcement positions Snap ahead of competitors like TikTok and Instagram, which have yet to launch similar text-to-video AI generators. While Meta introduced a tool named Make-A-Video in 2022 for text-to-video generation, it has not made it publicly available.

Snap is clearly aiming to compete with startups such as Runway, along with major players like OpenAI and Adobe, who are expected to release text-to-video AI generators to the public later this year. However, without examples of outputs from the new AI video-generation tool, it's uncertain how Snap's offering will stack up against others in this dynamic landscape.