Instagram Launches AI Custom Background Tool, Meta Expands AI Image Creation Services

Instagram users in the United States now have access to a groundbreaking new feature - a generative AI-powered background editing tool. Ahmad Al-Dahle, head of Meta's generative AI team, announced this new feature on Threads. According to his description, this tool allows users to change the background in their stories using clever prompts.

Al-Dahle shared an example to demonstrate the functionality of this tool. The process of using the tool is simple: when you click on the background editing icon, prompts such as "being chased by a dinosaur" or "being surrounded by puppies" appear on the screen. Moreover, the background editing feature using generative AI goes beyond this, allowing users to input their own prompts to construct backgrounds according to their preferences.

Once the background is set and shared with other users on the platform, a "Try it" sticker is shared along with the original prompt, inviting other users to experience the magic of generative AI and create innovative stories.

This move by Instagram comes after Snapchat's recent involvement in AI-generated images, specifically offering this feature to users of its paid in-app service. Snapchat has been at the peak of its creativity lately, continuously introducing new features. For example, its recent Dreams feature allows users to transform themselves into fantasy heroes. Additionally, the platform also allows Snapchat+ users to try background based on prompts - a feature similar to the one just announced by Instagram.

In addition to the announcement regarding generative AI, Meta has also unveiled new plans involving AI. They have launched 28 AI-powered characters on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram in the United States. Furthermore, Meta is showcasing their AI development, such as Imagine with Meta, an AI image generator powered by their own Emu model. Like other companies working with AI, this model is capable of generating images based on text prompts, similar to Canva and OpenAI's ChatGPT.

In order to keep up with the trend and outperform competitors, Mark Zuckerberg's Meta is currently delving into the field of AI and rolling out innovative updates. According to September reports, Meta is using public posts on Facebook and Instagram to train parts of its Meta AI virtual assistant. The company stated that private posts are excluded from training to respect the privacy of platform users. This has raised concerns, especially considering the company's history with user data and privacy.

Meta's competitors are also actively training their AI models in an effort to achieve breakthroughs. For example, OpenAI has signed a six-year agreement with Shutterstock to use its extensive library of images, videos, and music to train its AI models. These developments mark significant progress in the world of AI and social media.