Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has recently launched Imagine, an AI-powered image generator. While Meta may be joining the AI image generation party a bit late, it brings a unique advantage to the table – access to the vast public image pools of its social media platforms for training. This new service, which was initially available on Instagram, can now be accessed as a standalone service on the internet.
Imagine that Meta AI is built upon Facebook’s image foundation model known as Emu. What sets it apart is the extensive dataset it was trained on, comprising more than 1.1 billion photos. This massive training data has enabled the AI to generate images based on textual descriptions with impressive accuracy.
How Imagine Meta AI works
Imagine that Meta AI operates on a familiar principle seen in other image generators. Users describe the image they wish to generate, either through complete sentences or a list of descriptive terms. The AI then processes this input and creates four images based on the description. These images are presented as thumbnails on the interface, with one displayed in a larger preview area.
While Imagine with Meta AI is free to use, it does require users to have a Meta account. This account can be created using existing Facebook or Instagram credentials or from scratch. However, one limitation is that the service is currently available only in the United States, as per Meta’s official announcement.
For those outside the United States, there is a workaround available. Users can employ a VPN connection to connect to the service from within the United States, bypassing the regional limitation.
Watermarked generated images
When users download the generated images, they come with a watermark, indicating that they have been produced using Meta’s AI image generator. These images are saved in JPEG format with a resolution of 1280×1280 pixels.
Meta’s AI image generator, Imagine with Meta AI, has demonstrated commendable performance. It excels in handling complex instructions and produces visually appealing images most of the time. However, it faces stiff competition from other image generators in the market, with some like Midjourney still regarded as superior overall.
The future of AI-generated images
As the field of AI image generation continues to evolve, Imagine with Meta AI joins a growing list of services that aim to democratize AI-generated content. With its vast training dataset and accessibility through Meta accounts, it offers users a valuable tool for creating images from text descriptions.
