Google Photos Enhances AI-Powered Editing Tools for All Users

Google on the difference between Magic Eraser and Magic Editor's Erase tool

Google Photos recently made its AI editing tools free and the company is out with an interesting blog about tips and best practices. Of note is a section explaining the difference between Magic Eraser and the erase tool in Magic Editor. In practice, I've found Magic Editor to be much better than Magic Eraser at naturally removing objects from a scene. If you want the best removal possible, spend time with Magic Editor. A senior product manager working on Google Photos explains the difference as such: Where using Magic Editor, Google also explains how it's easier to tap "objects with clear boundaries." Brushing and circling is for "objects with less distinct edges," while you can pinch-to-zoom to make better selections. The other tip is about using the strength slider for Portrait Light and Photo Unblur. Also of note in this article is how Google says it was "definitely a challenge" to bring Magic Editor, Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, Portrait Light, and more to a "wide array of Android and iOS devices."

How to use Google Photos AI editing tools, now available to everyone

We recently announced that Google Photos' AI editing tools - Magic Editor, Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur and Portrait Light - are coming to all Google Photos users, no subscription required. These powerful features have been incredibly popular and highly anticipated by our wide community of Google Photos users. "It's really exciting that so many more people will be able to use these tools," says Google Photos senior product manager Selena Shang. The expansion was no easy feat. The Google Photos engineering team worked to ensure that these features worked across a wide array of Android and iOS devices so that Google Photos' suite of AI editing tools work well no matter what device you're using. "It was definitely a challenge," Selena says, "but worth it!" Since Selena is an expert on the Google Photos AI editing suite and so many more people now have access to it, we asked for her top tips on using these tools. "Some of the best edits I've made are those where I've layered edits both within Magic Editor and outside of it," Selena says. For example, she'll apply the Portrait preset within Magic Editor, clean up additional distractions after that using Magic Editor and finally adjust the overall tone and brightness of the photo in the regular editor. "Using the full range of tools at my disposal lets me unlock the potential in all of my photos," Selena says. Magic Editor has a suite of features, one of them being a generative AI-powered Erase tool. Both Magic Editor's Erase feature and Magic Eraser can help you remove unwanted items from an image, but they each excel in different ways. "Magic Eraser works best for quick fixes on smaller portions of the photo," Selena says. For example, landscape shots with people or objects in the background are great candidates for using Magic Eraser, and it's faster. If you have more prominent, complex foreground objects, or objects that take up a larger portion of the photo in general that you want to remove, Magic Editor's generative AI is going to be more effective at filling the space, Selena explains. In general, it's better at performing more complex erases.