At Snap’s partner summit, the company announced a number of updates to AR-focused Lens Studio and developer tools, including several aimed at bringing shopping deeper into the Snapchat experience.
One of the most interesting updates involved the company’s computer vision Scan product, which analyzes content from a user’s camera to quickly display relevant information. Snap says the feature is used by about 170 million users per month. Scanning, which now has a more prominent location within the app’s camera section, was updated with commercial capabilities with a feature called Screenshop.
Users can now use their instant camera to scan a friend’s outfit, after which they will quickly receive shopping recommendations from hundreds of brands. The company is using the same technology for another upcoming feature that will allow users to take pictures of ingredients in their kitchen and receive recipes from Allrecipes that integrate them.
The features are part of a broader effort to intelligently suggest lenses to users based on what the camera is currently focusing on. Businesses will now be able to set up public profiles within Snapchat, where users can see all their different offerings, including Lenses, Featured, Stories and items for sale through the store functionality.
On the augmented reality side, Snap continues to emphasize business solutions with API integrations that make Lenses smarter. Retailers will be able to use Business Manager to integrate their product catalogs so that users can only access trial lenses for products that are currently in stock.
Partnerships with luxury fashion platform Farfetch and Prada will leverage additional updates to the AR platform, including 3D technical advances that make trying on clothes seem virtually more realistic. Users will also be able to use voice commands and visual gestures to toggle between items being tried on in the new experiences.
“We’re excited about the power of our camera platform to bring Snapchatters together with the businesses they care about in a meaningful way,” said Carolina Arguelles Navas, Snap’s global AR product leader. “And, now more than ever, our community is eager to experience and test, interact and learn about new products, from home.”