Yahoo Finance SNAP's Latest Advancement in AI to Boost Daily Active Users
Snap Inc.’s SNAP latest advancements in generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology are poised to boost its daily active users (DAU) by offering more realistic and engaging special effects. By enhancing the capabilities of phone cameras to produce lifelike augmented reality (AR) effects, Snap aims to attract new users and keep current ones entertained.
DAU at the end of the first quarter of 2024 was 422 million, up 10.2% year over year. Snap added 39 million DAU on a year-over-year basis.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SNAP’s 2024 DAU globally is pegged at 443.58 million, indicating year-over-year growth of 7.14%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $5.34 billion, indicating year-over-year growth of 15.97%.
As a pioneer in AR, Snap's commitment to innovation is evident in the latest update to its Lens Studio developer program. This upgraded version dramatically reduces the time required to create complex AR effects, cutting down production time from weeks to mere hours. This will likely encourage more artists and developers to create content for Snapchat.
The improved Lens Studio allows the company to create more sophisticated AR lenses, moving beyond simple effects like placing a hat on a person’s head. Now, developers can design lenses where the hat moves seamlessly along with the person’s head and matches the video’s lighting, enhancing realism. The capability to create such detailed and dynamic effects is expected to captivate users, encouraging them to spend more time on the platform.
Snap Inc. Price and Consensus
Snap Inc. price-consensus-chart | Snap Inc. Quote
Snapchat’s New AI Updates to Fend Off Competition
This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company has unveiled some latest updates for its app and new collaborations as well, which are expected to fend off competition in the near term. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Snapchat continues to innovate by leveraging generative AI to enhance user experiences and communication. With more than five billion Snaps created daily, Snapchat introduced new features to boost connectivity and self-expression. These include editable chats, expanded emoji reactions, My AI Reminders for managing schedules and Map Reactions for location-based interactions.
Additionally, Snapchatters can now design custom Bitmoji outfits using AI and explore new AI-powered Lenses like the popular 90s Lens. These advancements, inspired by the community's creative use of AI, aim to provide more dynamic and personalized ways for users to interact and express themselves.
Snapchat also enhanced user engagement through various initiatives, including integrating Lenses with Microsoft’s MSFT Skype to bring fun AR experiences to more than 80 million Skype users. With Snap's AR tools like Lens Studio and Camera Kit, users can personalize their chats with a variety of Lenses, which are also available on other platforms like Microsoft Teams and SwiftKey. Snapchat has also partnered with Versace to offer an immersive AR try-on experience for the Versace Mercury sneaker collection.
Shares of SNAP have lost 6.7% in the past year against the Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s growth of 25.5% due to the tough competition from Meta Platforms META and Alphabet’s GOOGL YouTube.
According to a report by Shopify, Meta’s Facebook leads the social-media market with 3.07 billion active users in 2024, followed by YouTube with 2.5 billion. The third and fourth most popular social media platforms are WhatsApp and Instagram, which are also owned by Meta with two billion active users each. Snapchat is ranked ninth with 800 million active users.
In preparation for the European Parliament elections, Snap also encouraged civic engagement with a special AR Lens developed in collaboration with the European Parliament, which is aimed at reminding and motivating EU Snapchatters, including many first-time voters, to participate in the elections. These efforts are expected to boost the company’s popularity and fend off competition.
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