(Credit: Zain bin Awais)
Artificial intelligence lets you generate text, images, videos, and even music. But it can also improve and enhance your photos. With the right app, you're able to tap into AI-powered tools to eliminate mistakes, erase unwanted elements, and adjust the overall look and quality of your photographs. AI can also save you time and effort by automatically enhancing your photos instead of you manually trying to tweak them. Here are a few AI-capable apps that can help the next time you want to fix or fine-tune your photos.
Microsoft Photos
With Windows 10 and 11, Microsoft Photos offers a couple of AI-based options to tweak your photos. First, the company’s AI-powered Designer program is now integrated into Photos so you can use its tools to adjust your photos. Designer is also available as a dedicated website, offering the same photo-editing tools as the version in Microsoft Photos.
The main drawback with Designer is that it chews up AI credits doled out by Microsoft, so you’ll want to be judicious in how you use it. Second, Photos comes with an AI-based background tool that lets you blur, remove, or replace the background of a photo.
Edit With Designer
To tap into Designer, launch Microsoft Photos in Windows 10 or 11, open a photo, and then click the Edit with Designer button at the top.
(Credit: PCMag / Microsoft)On the left sidebar, Designer displays some quick actions, including Crop & rotate, Selective edit, and Auto enhance. Crop & rotate lets you remove any unwanted areas around the edges. Selective edit allows you to select a specific element in the photo and then erase or move it. And Auto enhance tells the AI to adjust the photo on its own.
(Credit: PCMag / Microsoft)Further down on the sidebar are options to remove, blur, or change the color of the background. Next, you can restyle the photo to completely alter its look to pop art, 3D, cartoon, pixel art, or something else.
(Credit: PCMag / Microsoft)Toward the bottom of the sidebar, adjustment controls let you tweak the brightness, contrast, saturation, highlights, shadows, temperature, and sharpness.
(Credit: PCMag / Microsoft)Adjust the Background
If you simply want to play with the background of a photo, make sure the photo is open. Click the Edit button in the upper left and then click the Background icon at the top.
(Credit: PCMag / Microsoft)You now have three choices: Blur, Remove, and Replace. Choose the one you want to use. You can then vary the intensity and use a brush tool to select any elements of the background that the AI may have missed. When done, click the Save Options button to save the modified photo separately from the original version, replace the original, or copy it to the clipboard.
(Credit: PCMag / Microsoft)Google's Magic Editor
Designed for iOS/iPadOS and Android, Google Photos offers a Magic Editor tool that uses AI to help you improve your photos. Launch the mobile app and make sure you’re signed in with your Google account. Open a photo that you want to edit. Tap the Edit icon to launch the photo editor and then tap the Magic Editor icon in the lower-left corner. You’re asked if you want to use the Magic Editor. Tap the link for Try now.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)Enhance the Photo
Depending on the type of photo, the Magic Editor will attempt to identify it or list certain elements related to it. Tap one of the suggestions to see how the photo is enhanced. Typically, the editor displays a few variants of the new photo. Swipe through them. You may also be able to press down on an image to see the editing changes that were made. If you find a version you like, tap the checkmark. Otherwise, tap the button to get a new set of results or tap the X to close the editor.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)Erase an Element
Using the Magic Eraser, you can remove an unwanted element in the photo. Open a photo and launch the Magic Editor. Circle, brush, or tap the element you want to remove until it’s highlighted and then tap Erase. The photo is regenerated to remove the item. Swipe through each version until you find the one you like and then tap the checkmark.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)Move an Element
You can also move an element in a photo. In Magic Editor mode, tap the item you wish to move and then drag it to its new location. You can even resize the element with your fingers. When done, tap the right arrow at the bottom. The photo is then regenerated with the item in its new spot and the missing area blending in with the background. If you like the changes, tap the checkmark.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)Unblur a Photo
One more cool tool available with the Magic Editor is a photo unblur. With this, you use AI to try to sharpen a blurry or out-of-focus shot. Open the photo you wish to unblur. Tap the Unblur command. After the photo is regenerated, move the slider left or right to set the level of sharpness. When finished, tap Done.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)Apple's Photos App
With the latest version of Apple’s Photos app and a supported iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you can make certain tweaks to your photos via Apple Intelligence. Using the AI-powered Clean Up tool, you’re able to remove unwanted or distracting elements from a photo.
First, you’ll need a compatible device, such as any iPhone 16, an iPhone 15 Pro, an iPhone 15 Pro Max, any iPad with an A17 Pro or M1 chip or later, or any Mac with an M1 chip or later. Second, you must be running iOS/iPadOS 18.1 or higher on your mobile device and macOS 15.1 or higher on your computer.
Remove Distracting Elements
To try the Clean Up tool, launch the Photos app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac and open a photo that contains an element you’d like to remove. Tap the Edit icon and then select Clean Up. Tap, brush, or circle the area you want to remove. The photo is then regenerated without the item you selected. If any vestiges of the object remain, just run the clean-up process once or twice more, and the item should completely vanish. When finished, tap Done.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)