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· Posted on
February 21, 2024

TikTok is building its own augmented reality tools

We love a puppy filter on Snap, and Pokémon Go was bloody brilliant. Now, TikTok is doing AR too.

What's the key learning?

  • TikTok has been working with third-party developers who want to integrate the app on to their own platforms
  • But now it's working with developers to build augmented reality tools (think puppy ears on a Snap filter) into its own app
  • Augmented reality is our reality - with a sneaky twist, like a filter or a Pikachu in your backyard. It needs no tools, and is completely portable.
  • It's a lucrative market - global AR ads are set to reach AU$11 billion by 2024.

TikTok needs no introduction. It's responsible for the most addictive platform in the world. Ya know, where you spend hours watching teens lip sync to songs about Jeff Bezos and try out their model face.

TikTok has been working with third-party developers who want to integrate the app on to their own (i.e their most recent partnership with Shopify), but they haven't done much else.

Now, TikTok is luring developers into their TikTok Effect Studio, to help the app build augmented reality tools. It'll let users get a lil more creative with their 6-second vids and help it compete with Facebook and Snap, who already have AR tools inbuilt.

So what's the key learning?

Remember how we spoke about the metaverse? Well augmented reality - or AR for short - is a key part of it. AR is our reality - with a sneaky twist. Like Snapchat filters let you chuck on a set of puppy ears, or Pokémon Go lets you catch a Pikachu in your backyard.

Unlike virtual reality, which is when you slap on a headset and enter a whole different virtual world, augmented reality doesn't need any tools at all. And, it's completely portal, which means more people can actually experience it.

But this is just the beginning, fam. Global AR advertising revenue grew to $1.9 billion in 2020. And it could top a whopping $11 billion by 2024. And more than 83 million people in the US use AR on some kind of device, which is why it's so enticing for social media platforms. 

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