First announced in 2022, Microsoft Designer was initially introduced as an intuitive, AI-powered graphic design application intended to help users quickly create various visual assets. Since then, the tool has evolved significantly, benefiting from Microsoft’s continued investment in AI.
As of July 2024, the Microsoft Designer AI app is generally available not just for desktop users but also for iOS and Android fans. According to Microsoft, this ultra-intuitive solution will help creative professionals express themselves in new ways with the support of generative AI.
Plus, Designer now integrates seamlessly with various Microsoft products, including Microsoft Word and PowerPoint (via Copilot), Microsoft Photos, and more.
Here’s everything you need to know about the intelligent design platform.
What is Microsoft Designer AI?
Microsoft Designer is Microsoft’s intelligent design and image generation platform. It empowers users to create and edit various visuals, from posters and presentations to social media posts, using generative AI prompts.
When Microsoft initially introduced the toolkit, it was intended to address the various challenges business users were facing with content creation. According to the tech giant, many professionals were struggling to come up with ideas for their visual assets and produce them cost-effectively and efficiently. Microsoft believed AI was the answer.
Powered by technology like DALL-E 2 by OpenAI, the platform allows anyone to create graphic design components in seconds, from invitations and digital postcards to graphics for blog posts. Plus, alongside the standard “text prompt” experience you’d expect from most generative AI image tools, the platform comes with a host of templates to explore, too.
There’s even an avatar creator, which you can use to render cartoon versions of yourself in seconds. You can then use that avatar to represent yourself on Microsoft Teams, LinkedIn, and other channels. Additionally, rather than just creating content, Microsoft Designer AI can edit your images for you, too, making them more impressive or adjusting their style.
You can frame your photos with decorative borders, remove backgrounds, people, and objects from images, or even add text and logos to existing shots.
The Evolution of Microsoft Designer AI
When it was first introduced, the Microsoft Design AI app was born out of PowerPoint, where the Designer already used AI to make template suggestions to help users create presentations. The solution has come a long way since then.
In 2023, Microsoft announced new features for the “preview” version of Designer, such as a new “Ideas” function to boost user creativity. Users tell the Designer AI tool what they want to create, and it can generate unique images and accompanying text.
For instance, you could ask it to create a social media campaign with captions and hashtags, and the tool will suggest a range of options to choose from. Microsoft also introduced new resizing features and the ability to create animated images in Designer for more engaging content.
Plus, in 2023, Microsoft shared an update allowing teams to access Designer in the Edge sidebar. This means users can create high-quality content in their browser without having to switch to a new application or exit their window.
These updates joined a series of new editing features, allowing users to fill certain aspects of their graphics with a couple of clicks, expand the background in an image with artificial intelligence, erase certain photo parts, and replace backgrounds.
When announcing the general availability of Microsoft Designer AI as a free mobile app and web tool, Microsoft shared that it has now integrated the solution into various products. Microsoft Insiders can now use Designer AI in Microsoft Photos to edit images, automatically crop, remove backgrounds, apply filters, and more without leaving their app.
What Can You Do with Microsoft Designer AI Today?
Today, the Microsoft Designer AI app and service are more powerful than ever, thanks to Microsoft’s investments in the Copilot landscape. Whether you’re using the tool on the web or through the new mobile app, you’ll see a new, redesigned homepage enhanced based on feedback Microsoft received from its early adopters.
The new interface makes it easier for users to jump to the features they want instantly, regardless of whether they want to create an image from scratch or edit an existing visual.
Today, you can use Microsoft Designer AI to:
Access Design Inspiration and Guidance
Microsoft Designer makes it easy to generate ideas for visual content. Its convenient generative AI chatbot can suggest ideas and templates for any project. All you need to do is describe an idea or goal to the bot, and it will suggest a series of templates and images.
The new prompt templates, building on the existing templates offered by Microsoft, are increasingly impressive. These templates are already populated with ideas, styles, and descriptions you can customize to suit your needs. This is perfect if you’re new to using generative AI for design purposes and need help ensuring you get the right images with prompts.
Once you’ve created the ideal template, you can share it with your colleagues, friends, and fellow creators in Microsoft’s community.
Create Endless Visuals
With Microsoft Designer AI, there’s no limit to the number of unique visuals you can create. Alongside social media posts, presentations, posters, and everyday graphics, you can also create custom stickers to share on social media and messaging apps. You can also create emojis for tools like Microsoft Teams, clip art, wallpapers, monograms, and avatars.
Microsoft Designer can even help users create the perfect greeting card with personalized messages generated by artificial intelligence. All you need to do is describe what you want to see and what you want to convey to the recipient, and the AI tools will do the rest.
The image creator is stronger now too, with more advanced generative AI behind the scenes, helping you to build one-of-a-kind images in seconds.
Edit and Enhance Images
As mentioned above, Microsoft Designer AI also allows you to customize and edit existing images, based on your needs. You can use the “Restyle Image” tool to choose from various styles for your photos and visuals. Plus, you can ask the AI system to add extra details for you.
The app can create custom image frames for you with “Frame Image”, or combine multiple photos into a collage. You can then add filters, stickers, and other elements into the mix. Plus, you can remove objects and people from images, and instantly replace the background of a photo with something unique, generated by AI.
Notably, the background replacement feature is still in the process of being rolled out to users worldwide, so you might have to wait a little longer to access it.
Use Microsoft Designer AI in Your Favorite Apps
One of the most exciting things about Microsoft Designer AI today, is that it’s rolling out into more of the apps and tools teams use daily. If you have a Copilot Pro subscription, you can access Designer in web and PC apps like Word and PowerPoint, to create images and designs in the heart of your workflow.
All you need to do is click on the Copilot icon in your chosen app, and describe the image you want to create. Microsoft says a new feature will soon be rolling out to Word, which will allow users to ask the AI system to create a banner for their document.
In addition, Microsoft will introduce new features for Microsoft Designer AI in Edge in the months to come, so you can look forward to new capabilities in your browser.
Who Can Use Microsoft Designer AI?
Microsoft Designer AI is launching out of preview now. Its free plan offers 15 “daily boosts” to all users. These “boosts” are essentially credits you can use to create AI images, designers, and stickers with natural language prompts.
The free plan also allows you to blur and remove image backgrounds, get design layout suggestions and ideas from your AI bot, and create copy with caption and hashtag suggestions. For more functionality, you can upgrade to a Microsoft Copilot Pro subscription for $20 per user per month.
This includes all of the additional benefits you get with Copilot Pro, as well as 100 boosts per day for the Designer AI app. Notably, certain features, such as Microsoft Designer AI in Microsoft Photos, will only be available to Microsoft Insiders for now.
Get Started with Microsoft Designer AI
Microsoft Designer AI promises to be a valuable tool for designers, marketing teams, and other creators who want to produce high-quality content quickly and efficiently. It’s an incredible tool for producing captivating images, editing photos, and accessing inspiration for your content work.
Plus, like most of the AI-powered tools offered by Microsoft, you can rest assured your data and privacy will be protected. Microsoft says that their responsible AI practices, such as the use of guard rails and threat monitoring will be included in the Designer app.
If you want to start experimenting with Microsoft Designer AI, you can access the mobile app or web version of the solution for free today.
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