Instagram, the Meta app for sharing photos, has launched a AI-based story background editing feature called Backdrop this week. Limited for now to users in the United States, this generative AI tool is based on Meta’s Emu Edit technology.
In its announcement, Meta says that the new feature of Instagram goes beyond the classic color filters and basic retouching. “With Backdrop, you can reimagine the background of your image with a few taps and an indication, like ‘chased by dinosaurs’ or ‘surrounded by puppies’, to create a completely new image for your story,” said Ahmad Al-Dahle, responsible for generative AI at Meta, in a post on Threads.
“Tap the Backdrop button at the top of a new story to get started,” Al-Dahle continues. “And once you’ve published your story, a ‘Try it’ sticker will appear when you share the created image, making it even easier for your friends to use Backdrop for the first time.”
Although it uses quite advanced technology, the new Instagram tool is designed to be very simple. Users are presented with various suggestions, such as “on a red carpet”, along with the option to create their own ideas.
Meta would be using AI to increase the confidence and creativity of the person who wants to publish a photo and show it to their contacts, but also to encourage others to try the feature, resulting in increased usage and greater participation.
This would be another step in Meta’s bet on AI as a business strategy. Mark Zuckerberg‘s shift from the metaverse to AI has been marked by a greater involvement in the open source community and the launch of generative AI features in Whatsapp and Messenger. Meta also recently introduced the AI image generator “Imagine with Meta”, which uses UEM but is presented as an independent website.
