TikTok Introduces Tako AI: A Chatbot to Help Users Discover Content

Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snapchat, highlighted the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to elevate the platform’s advertising strategy. Speaking at an event in France, Spiegel discussed the advancements of Snapchat's AI chatbot, My AI. He remarked, "My AI undoubtedly serves as a privacy-conscious signal. When people interact with My AI, we can leverage these insights to enhance advertising recommendations on our platform."

Since its launch earlier this year, My AI has attracted around 150 million users, resulting in over 10 billion messages exchanged. Among these interactions, users have engaged in approximately 5 million conversations about McDonald's, along with numerous discussions on cars and buying advice.

Despite the chatbot's success, Snapchat has observed a decline in brand advertising spending. The company's April quarterly report revealed a 7% revenue drop for Q1 2023, totaling $988.6 million compared to $1 billion during the same period last year. My AI was introduced as a premium service in February, followed by a global rollout in April.

As AI technology becomes increasingly vital, other social media platforms are also adopting AI solutions. Last month, TikTok announced the testing of Tako, an AI-based chatbot aimed at aiding content discovery. Likewise, Meta launched Voicebox, a generative AI model for audio editing. Meta described Voicebox as capable of generating high-quality audio clips and editing existing recordings, such as removing background noises while preserving the audio's integrity. The tool supports text-to-speech in six languages, including English, French, German, Spanish, Polish, and Portuguese.

By harnessing these AI advancements, Snapchat and its competitors strive to boost user engagement and optimize advertising effectiveness in a rapidly evolving digital environment.