👉 Background: Snap is the owner of Snapchat and other camera/social media apps, like Spectacles and Bitmoji. Many people know Snap for its OG photo-disappearing feature as well as its Stories feature.

👉 What happened: Snap launched its AR enterprise service in March this year. The goal was to help brands use AR to create try-on features for their products. Think: virtually trying on shoes before you buy. But after just 7 months, Snap has shut down the division.

👉 What else: With the growth of AR and AI, Snap couldn't hold onto its competitive edge for long enough.

What's the key learning?

💡Succeeding long term means maintaining a competitive edge. While six months ago, Snap's AR service had big brands like Coca Cola and Nike on board, the competition has picked up quickly.

💡With the rise of generative AI tools, companies can create try-on experiences on their own now. Snap is not an AI company at its core so even if it tries to bring further AI into their product, this will just bring it up to a level playing field with others.

💡Having a long-term differentiating factor can be an absolute game-changer, like Apple and its entire ecosystem of products. Or Amazon and its Prime membership program. But for Snap, AR just isn't its thing anymore.

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