Snap taps Google’s Gemini AI for Snapchat’s chatbot

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) has entered an expanded strategic partnership with Google Cloud (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) to power its social media platform Snapchat’s AI-based chatbot.

Snapchat’s My AI chatbot will leverage Google’s (GOOGL) Gemini on Vertex AI, particularly the technology’s ability to understand and operate across different types of information such as text, audio, image, video, and code.

Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud (GOOG), said: “Snap was an early leader in helping people communicate in a digital world, and now it is at the forefront of using generative AI to build agents that create new value for its community. Gemini models on Vertex AI are now powering millions of multimodal interactions in the Snapchat app every day that allow Snapchatters to better engage with My AI — with built-in accuracy and safety features.”

Snapchat first launched My AI last year, using AI models from OpenAI. It began using Gemini earlier this year for its multimodal generative AI capabilities. Snap (SNAP) said the switch has led to over 2.5 times higher engagement with My AI in the U.S.

Snap (SNAP) shares rose around 4% in early trading before market open Tuesday.