Generative AI is super popular right now. Since OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2022, countless tools and chatbots have popped up. For example, Microsoft launched an AI image generator within Bing, powered by DALL-E 3, one of OpenAI's visual projects. It was originally called Bing Image Creator but is now called Image Creator under the Microsoft Designer umbrella.
Image Creator lets you generate AI images from text prompts. It's easy to use, whether you're accessing it through Copilot or directly on its website. Just type in a description, and the AI does the rest, creating a set of images based on your prompt. Microsoft says it takes responsible AI seriously -- blocking harmful prompts and adding invisible watermarks to AI-generated images.
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When you first sign up with a personal account, you get 15 "boosts," which speed up image generation, plus editing and resizing. Boosts refill daily. If you run out, you can still create images, but they'll take a little longer to generate until your boosts are refreshed. (With work or school accounts, you won't be able to create until boosts refill.)
You can also redeem Microsoft Rewards for more boosts if needed.
With support for over 100 languages, Image Creator is a powerful tool for most casual users. If you're ready to try Image Creator, our guide shows you exactly how to get started with generating images today.
What you need: To use Image Creator, all you need is access to bing.com/create. No OpenAI account required. You can access Image Creator through Copilot or directly through the website. We'll cover in detail how to create images directly on the Image Creator website, but you can check the FAQ below for instructions on generating images using Copilot
Yes. There are two ways to use Image Creator. You can generate images by going to bing.com/create, as mentioned earlier, or you can use Copilot ro create images directly in a chat.
Here's how to create an image right from the chat window:
A big perk of using Copilot to generate images is that you can ask follow-up questions to tweak the image. Copilot will suggest things like, "Can you make the dodo wear a hat?" or "Change the color of the feather to blue."
Yes, once you download your image from Image Creator, you are free to edit it using other software or photo-editing apps, but you won't be able to edit it directly in Microsoft's Image Creator once it's been saved. You can, however, use the customize tool to make adjustments like cropping, rotating, or auto-enhancing before downloading the image.
The more specific you are with your prompts, the better the result.
Think of the prompt as a detailed description of the image you want to create. Include adjectives, nouns, and verbs to explain the image and what the subject is doing -- styles are also a great addition. For example, if you ask the AI bot to create "a photo of...," you'll get a different result than if you specify you want a cartoon, a painting, or a 3D render. The style really matters.
Also: The five biggest mistakes people make when prompting an AI
Here are some prompt tips from Microsoft you might find helpful:
According to the latest ruling from the US Copyright Office, purely AI-generated images aren't protected under current copyright laws because they're not the result of human authorship. Images created with Designer have an invisible watermark that shows they're AI-generated. This watermark includes Microsoft's info, along with the date and time the image was made.
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AI image generators have sparked controversy because they're trained on images found online, many of which were created by other people. While the art you create with these tools is unique, it's still influenced by millions of images from across the internet.
Microsoft Designer's Image Creator is currently free to use, offering 15 daily boosts to speed up image generation. Each boost allows for faster processing of your image prompts. If you run out of boosts, you can still create images, but the generation process will take longer. To continue enjoying faster image creation, you can redeem Microsoft Rewards points for additional boosts.
For those seeking more boosts, Microsoft offers a Copilot Pro subscription, which provides 100 boosts per day. This subscription also includes other benefits across Microsoft 365 apps.
