Snapchat makes its first open prompt AI Lens available for free in the US

Snapchat is making its new “Imagine Lens,” the company’s first open prompt image-generation AI Lens, available to all users for free. The Lens was initially launched in September but only for paid subscribers. With the Lens, users can edit their own Snaps using custom prompts or generate their own.

For instance, you could prompt the app “turn me into an alien” after snapping a selfie, or request an image of a “grumpy cat.” The company suggests you could use the Lens to try on Halloween costume ideas, or reimagine your friend in a new look, among other things.

The results can be shared with friends, posted to your Story on Snapchat, or shared beyond the app.

The broadened availability of the AI Lens follows the launch of AI video-generating apps from Meta (Meta AI) and OpenAI (Sora), which compete for young people’s attention with even more advanced AI tools and features than photo modifications.

For instance, Sora lets users generate videos of themselves after providing the app with a one-time video and audio recording to capture their appearance. Friends can share these AI personas, dubbed “cameos,” with one another, so they can star in videos together.

That puts pressure on other social apps like Snapchat to keep up, so making the AI image Lens free to use seems a worthwhile investment for the app maker.

Until now, Snapchat’s AI Lens was only available to Lens+ and Snapchat Platinum Subscribers, the company says. With the expanded rollout, Snap is making a limited number of image generations available to all free users, as well. At launch, free users in the U.S. will be able to access the new Lens, with plans for other markets underway, starting with Canada, Great Britain, and Australia.

The Lens is found near the front of the in-app Lens Carousel, or you can search for it by name. To create, tap the caption to edit your prompt, or use one of the preloaded suggestions if you need inspiration.

The company notes that Snapchat users access Lenses more than 8 billion times per day.