Snapchat Boosts Engagement With New Tools, AR Upgrades, Expanded Creative Content

Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, is intensifying its commitment to its community with a suite of new features and improvements designed to create deeper connections and enhance user engagement.

The latest updates aim to make communication more dynamic and content more engaging.

Earlier this month, Snap officials announced the company reached a milestone during the second quarter: 850 million monthly active users.

“Our community grew to reach more than 850 million monthly active users in Q2, with more than 11 million Snapchat+ subscribers,” Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said in an earnings release, as the company moves toward its goal of 1 billion monthly users.

Inroads to User Engagement

During the second quarter of 2024, Snapchat introduced several innovations to enrich user interactions and increase engagement. One of the features, Map Reactions, allows users to send emojis on the Snap Map, creating a new way to start conversations and share moments with friends. This addition is part of Snapchat’s broader strategy to make communication more expressive and engaging.

Another update, Editable Chats, lets users modify messages within five minutes of sending, adding a layer of flexibility to conversations. Additionally, the My AI Reminders feature enables users to set alerts for deadlines, helping them stay organized and connected in their daily lives.

Snap’s strategy to drive daily active user growth and engagement is focused on improving the way Snapchatters communicate and interact with their friends, family and the world, Spiegel noted.

“We have delivered a number of new communication features and user experience enhancements in recent months to execute on this strategic initiative,” he said in the company’s Q2 shareholder letter.

“These improvements have contributed to all-time highs in the number of daily active users sending Snaps in every region, which is an important input to sustained daily engagement,” he added in the letter.

Global time spent watching content increased 25% year over year and 10% quarter over quarter, driven by the popularity of Spotlight and Creator Stories, the letter said. Snapchat is unifying its content ranking models across these platforms to deliver consistently engaging material. The number of creators submitting Spotlight content grew by over 20% year over year, highlighting the platform’s expanding content ecosystem and role in fostering creativity.

Partnerships for User Experiences

Meanwhile, the company’s partnership with Live Nation, branded as Snap Nation, marks an expansion in content offerings, providing Snapchatters with exclusive access to tour and festival experiences.

Machine learning and generative artificial intelligence are at the heart of Snapchat’s strategy to deepen user connections and enrich experiences. The company is using these technologies to improve content ranking and personalization, ensuring that users see more of what interests them. Enhancements in AR Lens recommendations are designed to make interactions more engaging and tailored to individual preferences.

Augmented reality (AR) continues to be a central focus, with Snapchatters increasingly sharing AR Lens experiences. The number of Snapchatters sharing AR Lens experiences with their friends rose by 12% year over year, driven by the popularity of new generative AI lenses. The ML Scribble World Lens, which transforms users into cartoon-style versions of themselves, was viewed over 1 billion times, Spiegel noted in the letter. The 90s AI Lens attracted more than 20% of U.S. Snapchatters.

Also in the quarter, a generative AI Lens was launched in collaboration with Beyoncé for her “Cowboy Carter” album. This lens achieved 80 million engagements in just three days, illustrating the impact of integrating high-profile collaborations with innovative technology, the letter said.

Another new addition engaging Snapchatters is Snapchat’s Lens Studio 5.0, per the letter. With a new GenAI Suite, creators can generate lenses quickly using text prompts without coding skills. The tool is part of Snapchat’s broader effort to cultivate a creator community and drive further innovation in AR experiences.

Snapchat is also making investments to enhance the performance of its iOS app, the letter said. These improvements include better battery management, faster app and screen loading, and enhanced camera quality.