Snapchat's Imagine Lens: How to Make AI Snaps (2026 Guide)

Snapchat's Imagine Lens is its first open-prompt, AI image-generation Lens — you type what you want, and it generates a custom Snap in seconds. After rolling out widely in the US, it's now in front of most users, not just Snapchat+ subscribers. If you've seen friends posting surreal, clearly-AI Snaps and wondered how, this is it. Here's how to use it well.

How to find and use the Imagine Lens

1. Open Snapchat to the Camera tab and take a photo as you normally would.
2. Look for the AI+ icon (a chat bubble with stars) in the right-hand toolbar, or find Imagine near the front of the Lens carousel.
3. Tap the caption bar and type a prompt — describe the scene, style, or transformation you want. Snapchat offers preset prompts if you're stuck.
4. Tap the screen to generate. A few seconds later you've got your image. Tap Done, then caption it, save it to Memories, or send it to friends and Stories.

Writing prompts that actually work

The difference between a bland result and a great one is specificity:

• Name a style. "as a 90s anime cel," "claymation," "oil painting" — style words do a lot of heavy lifting.
• Set the scene. Place, lighting, mood. "on a neon-lit Tokyo street at night" beats "cool background."
• Keep it to one idea. Stacking five concepts muddies the result. One clear image per prompt.
• Iterate. Re-run with a tweaked prompt instead of settling for the first try.

Add your friends to the image

One of the most fun additions: you can drop friends' avatars into your AI Snaps by typing @ in the prompt and selecting eligible friends. It turns a solo gimmick into a shared inside joke — which is exactly the kind of thing that keeps a chat alive. Stuck on what to even make? Our list of Snapchat Story ideas doubles as a prompt bank.

Where it fits in Snapchat+

The Imagine Lens started as a Snapchat+ perk before expanding. If you're weighing the subscription for early access to features like this, we broke down whether Snapchat+ is worth it and what every Snapchat+ Charm actually means.

The one rule: AI Snaps for fun, real you for connection

AI Snaps are a blast for Stories and group chats. But here's the catch worth keeping in mind: the thing that actually makes people want to connect with you is the opposite of a generated image — it's the real one. A profile that's all filters and AI reads as a wall; a real photo and a specific interest reads as a person. Use Imagine to entertain, not to hide. (It's also why surfaces built on real, verified profiles tend to lead to actual friendships, and why getting discovered works best when you lead with the genuine you — see Snaptle Spotlight.)

Make, then connect for real

Snaptle is where the real version of you meets real, moderated, verified-real people by shared interest — then takes it to Snapchat, AI Lenses and all. Have fun with Imagine, but lead with who you actually are; that's the version people remember. It's a connection app, not a dating app, and it's 18+. Free on iOS and the web.