Snap now leverages Gemini on Vertex AI to power generative AI experiences on MyAI

Last week, Snap announced a slew of AI-powered features, including improved reasoning capabilities for the MyAI chatbot. The announcement was notably concise, stating in a single line that the AI-powered assistant would now be able to interpret Snaps of parking signs, translate menus in foreign languages, and help identify plants. The only other piece of information about MyAI's new capabilities was a 4-second video in which MyAI helps a user identify a flower as a Heliconia.

This Tuesday, exactly a week after that first announcement, Snap and Google Cloud announced the expansion of their strategic partnership, which will allow Snap to tap into the multimodal capabilities of Gemini on Vertex AI, and more specifically, Gemini's image, video, audio, and code understanding features, to enhance its MyAI assistant. With Gemini powering the MyAI chatbot, users will be able to unlock a wider range of use cases in which they can Snap MyAI asking for assistance. According to Snap, MyAI has seen 2.5x as much engagement since Gemini started powering the chatbot in the US.

Snapchat was first launched on Google Cloud in 2011, marking the beginning of a collaboration spanning over a decade. Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap, emphasized how the continuing partnership aligns with Snap's mission to empower users to express themselves and learn about the world quickly and easily. Google Cloud's CEO, Thomas Kurian, praised Snap's leadership in using generative AI to create value for its community. The Gemini-powered MyAI chatbot is currently available for all US-based Snapchat users.