Snapchat’s 1-star Reviews Get a Spike As Users Require Removal of the Platform’s ‘My AI’ Feature
Syed Imran Haider 
Snapchat launched OpenAI GPT-powered My AI feature last week to its international users. The new chatbot is visible at the top of Snapchat’s Chat tab, where you can make numerous queries to get instant responses.
The latest feature initially arrived on the platform as a subscriber-only addition. However, the chatbot available to Snapchat’s wider community has seen a rise in negative reviews. The app has received significantly increased negative reviews with numerous complaints through its platform.
Statistics by Sensor Tower, Snapchat’s intelligence firm, confirm that 75 percent of the user reviews were 1-star or negative, with a review average of 1.65. In the first quarter of 2023, the app’s average U.S. review was 3.05, with 35% of reviews based on one star. The firm also noted a five-time increased number of daily reviews across the last week.
Apptopic, the app data provider, has reported a similar trend. According to its analysis, Snapchat’s App Store reviews noted “AI” as the top keyword, with 2,973 times mentions over the last week. The firm rated the term “Impact Store” with negative marks of -9.2.
This weighted index ranges from -10 to +10 and measures a term’s effect on sentiment. According to Apptopia, Snapchat got three times more negative or one-store ratings than usual last week. The one-star reviews have started slightly coming down, though they remain elevated.
The Backlash
Snapchat receives backlash against its ‘My AI’ when Artificial Intelligence is at an inflection point of the hype. Companies have also begun finding how to integrate the technology into their businesses. Tech experts believe adding an AI-powered chatbot to Snapchat is a smart move because the app stores get dozens of AI-powered chatbots to rake in millions of dollars. It helps indicate increasing customer demand for social media AI-backed chat experiences.
While the “My AI” feature has become a part of Snap’s social media app, it has failed to attract many Snapchat users. It is most probably because of the inappropriate placement of the new chatbot, which is a concern for many users.
The “My AI” Feature
Snapchat users can see the My AI feature pinned to the top of their Chat feed in the app. It is where you have everyday interaction with your friends and might not want to deal with experimental features. Unlike other conversations, the app does not allow users to unpin, remove, block, or remove the chatbot.
The app has an already established presence in the feed with Team Snapchat chats. Social media platforms have shared many complaints regarding the new AI-powered feature. Even Snapchat has received several complaints for “My AI” since its launch last week.
Users cited their grievances over the new feature on Twitter after the company announced it during its Partner Summit event. Snap’s tweet has dozens of responses wherein users have fully panned the AI-powered bot. Users say the company should allow users to remove the feature rather than forcing users to use it. Many users are so upset and have threatened the company to quit Snapchat and delete the app.
Snap believes it constantly iterates on new features for its social media app according to what its community says. However, it does not promise to remove Artificial Intelligence technology from its features and tools.
Many users do not want AI on Snapchat. Besides one-star reviews, several other five-star reviews require the company to remove the AI-powered feature or block it, calling it creepy. According to a Snapchat representative, users can avoid using the new AI chatbot if they do not like it.
