On Tuesday, Snapchat revealed it is introducing AI Clips in Lens Studio, its tool that enables creators to craft and release AR and AI effects known as Lenses. The new Clips represent an AI-enhanced Lens format that converts a single image into a five-second video.
In contrast to open-ended text-to-video applications, AI Clips are intended as a closed-prompt format, where Lens designers create the Lens, and users can tap it to produce a video using their own images.
For instance, a Lens designer could create a Lens that permits users to generate a clip of themselves strolling down a red carpet utilizing their photo.
Snapchat asserts that both seasoned and novice developers can leverage the new Lens format to convert a single prompt into a published Lens in just minutes without relying on external tools.
AI Clips are accessible to Snapchat users who subscribe to the platform’s Lens+ package, priced at $8.99 per month. As the name implies, Lens+ provides users with access to exclusive Lenses and AR experiences, alongside features included in the regular Snapchat+ subscription.
“For the first time, developers have the capability to create and publish photo-to-video AI directly to Snapchat via the GenAI Suite in Lens Studio,” Snapchat stated in a blog entry. “Currently, there is nothing available that merges closed-prompt AI video generation with direct photo input, genuine distribution, and monetization.”
Lens creators participating in Lens+ Payouts, Snapchat’s monetization initiative that allows developers to earn from their Lenses, can generate income from the AI Clips they produce.
Snapchat is not the sole platform aiming to facilitate users in creating AI clips from their photos, as YouTube announced the previous week that it is launching “Reimagine,” a new feature that enables users to change a single frame from an existing YouTube Short into an 8-second clip using their photo.
The introduction of AI Clips coincides with Snapchat’s declaration that users generated nearly two trillion Snaps, averaging 63,000 Snaps per second, in 2025.