Windows Photos Now Has Generative Erase and More AI Tools
Microsoft has been active with artificial intelligence lately, including developing an AI-powered Super Resolution upscaling tech for Windows 11. The company’s latest AI advancement is Generative Erase in Windows Photos, and it’s available now on Windows 10 for select users.
In a new post on its Windows Blogs website, Microsoft details Generative Erase, which is an AI-powered upgrade to the previous Spot Fix tool.
“This feature allows you to fix and remove distractions from your photos, like background objects or miscellaneous visual clutter,” explains Microsoft, adding that Generative Erase delivers much more “seamless” and “realistic” results after erasing objects than the outgoing Spot Fix tool.
To access Generative Erase, users must click Edit Image and select the “Erase” option. They can then brush over the objects or areas to be removed. The brush size is customizable. Users should disable “Auto Apply” to manually add or remove masks to achieve more precise results when doing extensive editing. Each mask represents an area that Generative Erase will remove and replace.
As Microsoft demonstrates in the animated image above, the mask feature enables users to remove multiple objects simultaneously, even if they are in dramatically different parts of the image. The example shows Generative Erase being used to remove people in various areas of the background.
Beyond bringing Generative Erase to Windows 10, the company is also bringing more AI editing features to the operating system previously only available in Windows 11. These AI features include Blur Background and Remove and Replace Background.
So, who can actually use these new AI-powered features within the Photos app? For now, all of the current Photos app AI edit features are available in the Photos app on Windows 11 for users with Arm64 devices.
As for Windows 10 users, the AI image editing tools are available now for Windows Insiders members. To use the features, Windows 10 Insiders must download the latest version in the Release Preview Channel, which is 2024.11020.21001.0 or higher.
While AI-powered editing tools like this have been available in high-end photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom for a while now, implementing them in free native photo editing software will bring them to many more users.
Image credits: Microsoft
