Snapchat announced some major updates at its Partner Summit 2024, including the next version of its AR glasses, which it hopes will be the next big step for the company.

It also unveiled a range of new app updates, which offer a range of new considerations for your Snap marketing approach.

First up, Snap is rolling out an updated user interface, which aims to simplify your various engagement options in the app.

As you can see, the updated Snapchat UI moves stories posted by your friends to the top of your inbox (left screen), with Instagram-like story bubbles to indicate new content. You’ll also be able to access the Snap Map from here, via a new shortcut button in the bottom-middle of the screen.

When you swipe right from the camera, the app opens a full-screen feed of recommended stories and Spotlight video clips, powered by AI recommendations, based on your interests.

Snap is therefore part of the broader social media trend, started by TikTok, of providing more AI recommendations, to drive engagement, rather than focusing on your following graph.

Which is clearly working. Meta claims that engagement on Facebook and IG has increased significantly since implementing AI recommendations, and it makes sense that Snap is also aligning with that same trend.

As explained by Snap:

“With this new, simplified design, Snapchat users will enjoy a more personal and relevant viewing experience. This update also has the potential to help our creators and publisher partners find new audiences on new platforms and support our advertising business over the long term.”

More engagement, more ads, and more discovery, which could be a big win for the platform.

Which is especially true when you also consider that the number of creators publishing publicly on the platform has more than tripled over the past year.

Snap’s creator funding opportunities, along with growing interest in Spotlight, have driven new engagement in the app, and Snap is also looking to capitalize on that by allowing more users to publish to an audience, if they choose.

Snap has always prioritized connections between friends, but it recently launched a new option that will allow younger users to create a public profile, instead of a private one.

This also carries some level of risk, but Snap wants to provide more opportunities to strengthen its appeal to creators and deliver more engaging content to more people.

In addition to this, Snap is also looking to facilitate more partnerships between brands and influencers through a new “Snap Star Collab Studio.”

According to Snap:

“Through our premier partners and new self-service tools, creators can now choose to show their engagement and demographic data to brands. And soon, they’ll be able to share that information directly with any advertiser on Snapchat.”

Much like the brand collaboration tools available for IG and TikTok, Snap is also looking to enable more brand partnerships, providing more opportunities for brands and creators.

Meanwhile, in the chat element (where the real engagement happens in the app), Snap is adding new local time zone streaming listings, which will make it easier to connect with friends around the world.

It’s also rolling out updated HD video calling and “Snap Mail,” which lets you leave a personalized Snap for a friend if they don’t respond.

Snapchat also has new AR elements, including an AI-powered Lens that will show you what you’ll look like in the future.

Yes, it’s not a major breakthrough in AI development, but you can see it being a big hit with Snap users.

Snap is also bringing simplified AR creation tools to Lens Studio, including “Easy Lens,” which enables Lens creation from text queries, and new AI-powered creator assistance.

This is a great use of generative AI, allowing more people to create augmented reality and, eventually, virtual reality experiences, without needing to be a coding pro. This could democratize advanced digital development and encourage more people to engage more with personalized immersive experiences.

Meta is also working on this project for its Metaverse VR worlds.

Snapchat is also adding AI elements to its Memories feature, which will create more engaging displays of your past updates.

It also equips its My AI chatbot with a new object recognition and translation capability.

“My AI can now interpret snapshots of parking signs, translate menus into a foreign language, or help identify unique plants.”

This is essentially integrating some of Snap’s existing camera tools, aligning them with its AI advancement. So it’s not a new feature per se, but it builds on its My AI element.

And also some yellow Snap Crocs for your Bitmoji. If you’re into that kind of thing.

There are plenty of new elements here to consider and factor into your Snap planning, with a range of options to further facilitate engagement and drive future opportunities. And with Snap now up to 850 million monthly users, it’s definitely worth considering the platform’s opportunities for your marketing efforts.