Snapchat offers premium gen AI-powered 'Imagine Lens' text-to-image creator feature free

Last month, Snapchat launched the generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI)-based text-to-image generator Imagine Lens. It was initially available for users with a Lens+ and Snapchat+ Platinum subscription.

Now, out of the blue, Snapchat has announced that the premium photo generator feature will be available for free to all users. However, this offer is limited to the United States of America.

The announcement comes amid intense competition from Google's Nano Banana image editing tool on Gemini AI app, which is growing popular among users worldwide. Even, OpenAI is even offering limited access to its video generator Sora and DALL-E-powered ChatGPT image creator tools.

Besides the image creation with text prompts, Snapchat's Imagine Lens can assist users in editing a photo taken via phone. And, add things to the photo.

For instance, you can take a photo and with Imagine Lens turned on, he/she can add a beach hat on the head or add a Batman costume. The images will come with a photorealistic quality created from just text prompts.

Imagine Lens on Snapchat app.

How to get started with Imagine Lens on Snapchat:

Step 1: Open Snapchat, find the Imagine Lens near the front of the Lens Carousel, or search for it by name.

Step 2: Tap the caption to edit your prompt, or keep one of the pre-loaded ideas to spark inspiration

Step 3: Create your Snap and share it anywhere: with a friend, to your Story, or outside of Snapchat

Snapchat has plans to extend the availability of Imagine Lens free access to customers in more international markets ,starting with Canada, Great Britain and Australia soon.

In a related development, Mark Zuckerberg-owned Meta has discreetly updated the WhatsApp Business app user policy by prohibiting rival AI providers from the messenger app.

The move is purely business, as rival chatbot AI brands such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, Perplexity AI and others have become a bit more popular on WhatsApp than what is Meta is comfortable with.

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