Generative AI FTW: After spending a year in preview mode, the Designer service is now ready to make everyone's AI dreams come true. The app is coming to Windows, Android and iOS, though aspiring "creators" will need to spend some money to fully utilize it through a Copilot Pro subscription.
Microsoft has announced a new chapterfor its Designer app. The AI-based service, launched in preview a year ago, is now generally available to users with a personal Microsoft account. Redmond is offering unprecedented content creation capabilities, as Designer is essentially a blank canvas that users can fill with a few templates or generative AI prompts.
The new "homepage" in the final version of Designer has been retooled based on feedback from beta testers. Users can quickly overcome the "blank page" syndrome by choosing from a variety of templates pre-populated with ideas, styles, and descriptions. Designer's AI can create custom stickers, emojis, clip art, wallpapers, and more.
Microsoft suggests that the new service is perfect for specific tasks such as creating greeting cards and invitations. Any photo can inspire uncanny "AI art" with the Restyle image feature, transforming the uploaded image into an avatar chosen from a set of styles. Designer can also create custom frames to turn photos into "shareable memories," while the Collages feature can effortlessly bring together different memories (I.e., different uploaded images).
Microsoft said Designer can create almost anything with just a textual prompt, but the true strength of the new AI service seemingly lies elsewhere. Subscribers to the Copilot Pro service can pay $20 per month to seamlessly access the tool from other Microsoft 365 apps (Word, PowerPoint, etc.), which means that Designer's unrestricted generative AI capabilities will cost $240 per year per user. The first month is free.
Interested users (or companies) unwilling to pay can still use the web version or the newly published mobile apps for Android and iOS. Microsoft has adopted a system based on "boosts," offering 15 free boosts per day for creating and editing images through machine learning algorithms. Copilot Pro subscribers get 100 boosts per day, which could be a real bargain for those who care about AI art.
Finally, Microsoft is trying to ease concerns for people or companies interested in generative AI but worried about copyright violations. Designer and other AI tools offered by Microsoft are designed to be safe and must be used in a responsible and ethical manner, Microsoft states. Specific guardrails have been prepared to prevent misuse, with threat monitoring and "abuse detection" working together to keep forbidden or illegal content out of Designer's AI environment.
Microsoft wants you to spend $20/month to access Designer AI tools through Microsoft 365
