Meta is stepping up its AI game with the introduction of new AI-powered photo editing features, unveiled during the Meta Connect 2024 conference. Following in the footsteps of Google, Meta AI will now allow users to edit photos and ask questions about the images they share, bringing a whole new level of interactivity and creativity to platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
At the heart of these new features are Meta AI’s multimodal capabilities, powered by the company’s latest Llama 3.2 models. This means that users will now be able to share photos, not just text, with Meta AI — similar to the functionality offered by Google Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
AI-Powered Photo Recognition and Editing
Meta AI’s photo features allow it to understand what’s in an image and provide relevant responses to user questions. For example, if you upload a picture of a flower, Meta AI can identify the type of flower. Share a dish? Meta AI can tell you how to make it. Though the technology promises significant advancements, how reliably Meta AI will answer these queries still needs to be put to the test.
One of the standout features is AI-powered image editing. Users can send a photo to Meta AI and ask for specific changes. Whether it’s removing or adding objects, altering outfits, or updating the background (like adding a rainbow to a sunset), Meta AI will handle these requests. The integration extends to Instagram, where users can ask Meta AI to generate a creative background when resharing photos to Instagram Stories.
Generative AI Features and Translation Tools
Meta’s AI updates aren’t just about photo editing. The company is expanding its generative AI capabilities, rolling out tests where users will be encouraged to experiment with AI-generated images on Facebook and Instagram. Translation tools for Reels on Facebook and Instagram are also in the works, offering automatic dubbing and lip-syncing for videos. These features will initially be tested in English and Spanish in small groups across the U.S. and Latin America.
During Meta’s demo, the company clarified that the AI photo editing features will first roll out in the U.S. in English, with more regions and languages to follow.
Meta’s Ambitious AI Goals
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the scale of the company’s ambitions during the Meta Connect event, emphasizing that Meta AI isn’t just focused on offering cutting-edge models but also on providing users with unlimited access to these models for free, integrated across Meta’s suite of apps. “Meta AI is on track to becoming the most-used AI assistant in the world by the end of this year,” Zuckerberg said, revealing that Meta AI has already amassed nearly 500 million monthly active users, with more growth expected as the service expands into larger markets.
With these new features, Meta is positioning itself as a major player in the AI space, bringing advanced tools to its users and ramping up competition in the AI-powered content creation landscape.
