These days, all the rave in tech is directed toward AI, and many people who consider themselves non-techies have found themselves integrating AI tools into their workflows.
For instance, in the US, 39% of marketers reportedly use Generative AI to create social media images and 39% to create website images.
Those are massive numbers because Generative AI started gaining ground barely two years ago.
This article is written for people considering using AI image generators to feed their curiosity, spark creativity, or as an integral part of their work.
You’ll discover some of the best tools and how you can get started with them in no time.
AI Image Generators: Factors to Consider
AI image generators have been the subject of a lot of controversy in recent months. Hence, it is important to carefully consider crucial factors before choosing one to use.
In this section, we provide key factors to consider, before diving into the the best generators; these were the specific factors considered in selecting the tools reviewed here.
A. Commercially Safe to Use
Freedom is important in generative AI and you don’t want to use an AI-generated image publicly only to be slammed with a lawsuit or other legal issues.
So, when selecting an AI image generator, ensure that generated images are suitable for commercial use.
The creators of the generator tool must provide a clear, permissive license specifying how the images can be used, including details of ownership and other compliance regulations necessary.
B. Ethical Training Process
Like every other AI tool or solution, the model is only as good as the data it has been trained upon. You want to be sure that the training data for your preferred AI image generator is not biased or discriminatory.
Google notably shut down the image generation feature of its Gemini chatbot after inaccuracies resulting from bias.
Another important ethical issue for AI image generators is whether the creators of images used to train the data are aware of their use and duly compensated. Several voices have called for greater transparency in how AI image generators source data.
C. Creative Process Integration
AI image generators are mostly used by people who want to bring a particular creative vision to life, and it is always better if the platform supports your goals by granting you precise control over the output.
For instance, it is important that your prompts are accurately interpreted and also that you can refine results by giving feedback.
Lately, many design tools are integrating AI image generators, which is a cool development to allow users to modify generated images and integrate them into their designs for a tailored final product. The ideal AI image generator should enhance your creative workflow.
D. High-quality Images
Indeed, the core function of an AI image generator is to produce visually appealing and high-resolution outputs. Precisely, you want to be sure that the images generated have a level of clarity suitable for both digital and print media. Images should be detailed and realistic.
Consistency is also important. The model should consistently produce high-quality results across different prompts and use cases, including the ability to choose between different artistic styles such as photorealism, painting, cartoon, etc.
E. Accessibility
Many AI image generators are free-to-use but the accessibility shouldn’t stop there. How friendly is the user interface? Is it easy to navigate? Can prompting be done in a variety of languages? How many languages are available? Are there sufficient support resources to guide users?
These are important questions to ask before diving in.
F. Prompt Interpretation
The effectiveness of an AI image generator heavily relies on its ability to interpret prompts accurately. For instance, the model should understand and process natural language prompts effectively, allowing users to describe what they want straightforwardly.
It should also be adaptable, able to work with a variety of prompt styles and adjust to different levels of detail and specificity.
For this reason, you might need to specifically look for platforms that offer a library of successful prompts as a reference.
6 Best AI Image Generators
1. Microsoft Designer Image Creator
Microsoft Designer Image Creator was initially introduced as Bing Image Creator, a tool that helps users generate AI images using the DALL·E model. Right now, it has been integrated into Microsoft’s newly launched Designer app, an AI tool to create graphic designs for social media posts, invitations, and more.
Image Creator combines the power of DALL·E 3 and GPT 3.5 to generate high-quality visuals from text prompts. You can further customize the color, layout, filter, background, and other features for the generated images from the Designer app, which is quite easy to use even without prior graphics designing experience.
One of the major pros is its versatility and accessibility. It supports over 100 languages and is available via various platforms. You can access Image Creator through your web browser or Designer mobile app (still in beta) or from the sidebar if you use Microsoft Edge. Skype and Microsoft SwiftKey users can also generate images from within the app.
How to Use
- Open designer.microsoft.com
- Log in with your existing Microsoft account or create a new one.
- From ‘Image Creator’, select ‘Generate’.
- Describe the image you would like to generate. There are several prompt templates you can customize.
- Wait for your images to be generated. Image Creator typically generates 4 images at a time.
- Download or copy any of the images. You can also edit a generated image or use it to create a design.
2. Adobe Firefly
Adobe is the biggest global name when it comes to computer software for creating and publishing visual content, including graphics, photography, illustration, video, etc. Therefore, it only makes sense that it will feature prominently among Generative AI tools
Adobe does have its image generator, known as Adobe Firefly. The current model is the Firefly Image 3 Model, which improves upon former models in terms of quality, composition, details, and more. You can enter text prompts in over 100 languages to generate high-quality images.
However, the coolest thing about Firefly is its integration with Adobe’s other software products. The Generative Fill feature in Photoshop, for example, can add and remove content to and from images using a simple prompt. Or you may want to create scalable vector graphics in Illustrator. The opportunities are endless.
In addition, Firefly was trained on Adobe’s library of stock images, Adobe Stock, and is thus deemed safe for commercial use. Prompts can be entered in over 100 languages.
How to Use
- Firefly features can be found inside other Adobe Creative Cloud apps such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe Express, InDesign, Substance 3D, etc.
- You can also access the standalone Firefly web app via firefly.adobe.com
- Firefly is free to use but some features require a paid premium plan to access, from US$5.36 per month.
3. ChatGPT
The vast majority of people know ChatGPT to be an AI text generator and that’s all they use it for. However, that was true only until October 2023 when OpenAI announced that it was making DALL·E 3 available to ChatGPT paid users. That means all Plus, Team, and Enterprise users, as well as developers using its API.
However, OpenAI recently announced its GPT-4o model, which it describes as a multimodal model through and through. This includes the ability to generate images. Although not all GPT-4o features are widely available yet, even free users will be able to generate images via ChatGPT when fully available in the coming weeks, according to the announcement.
Using ChatGPT to generate images, you can’t make requests for images to be generated in the style of living artists, since DALL·E has been trained not to do so.
How to Use
- Open your browser and visit chat.openai.com
- Create an account or log in to your existing account.
- Switch to the GPT-4 model. This is only available to paid users. Subscription costs $20 per month for the Plus plan.
- Type in your prompt to create the image. This is just like your regular conversation with ChatGPT. Nothing special.
- You can regenerate images if you are not satisfied or provide modification instructions.
4. Meta AI
In April 2024, Meta launched an AI chatbot to rival ChatGPT, and it came with the ability to generate images directly from the chat. It is based on the Llama 3 model and is already available in several countries.
Meta AI is very versatile, as the chatbot is available across Meta’s suite of social apps: WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram. For instance, in WhatsApp, you can even generate images while in a chat with someone else by tagging @Meta AI. This makes it highly accessible to users everywhere.
When generating images using Meta AI, an image appears immediately after you start typing and changes with each added word. So, you can see in real-time what your image will look like before you have even finished entering your prompt. This is a cool feature.
How to Use
- Visit meta.ai in your browser and sign up or log in using your Facebook account.
- Enter the prompt for the image you would like to generate. Make sure to begin with the word ‘Imagine’ to inform the model that you want to generate an image.
- Alternatively, you can select ‘Imagine’ from the top left corner of the webpage and enter your prompt.
- Four images will be generated, which you can download, regenerate, modify, or animate.
5. Stable Diffusion
Stable Diffusion originated from a project developed by researchers at German universities. It uses a method known as ‘latent diffusion model’ to generate photo-realistic images from text input. The latest public version of the model is known as Stable Diffusion XL Turbo, while a new 3.0 version is currently in early preview.
The training data comes from a publicly available dataset known as LAION-5B, consisting of images scraped from the web and created by a German charity. Indeed, Stable Diffusion images can be used for commercial purposes. Stable Diffusion has a free Prompt Database feature that contains over 12 million prompts for users to try.
You can also have Stable Diffusion modify images by adding or replacing parts of the content. It has been reported that Stable diffusion is more permissive in the kind of images it generates and its source code is publicly available via GitHub.
How to Use
- Visit stablediffusionweb.com from your browser.
- Enter the prompt for the image you would like to generate.
- On the following page, you will be prompted to customize the output by adding a negative prompt, as well as selecting the image style, aspect ratio, and number of images.
- When you select ‘Generate’, you will be asked to sign up or log in if you are not.
- The image is subsequently generated.
6. Generative AI by Getty Images
In 2023, the popular stock images company, Getty Images announced a partnership with NVIDIA to launch its own AI generator trained only on its licensed images. Getty Images has one of the largest libraries of very high-quality stock images (over 80 million) and it sought to harness them to provide opportunities to creatives.
The result of the partnership is Generative AI by Getty Images, a commercially safe AI image generator powered by NVIDIA Picasso, a custom machine learning model. Commercially safe because the images generated by the tool will be free for creators to use and license commercially, which is a welcome development.
The text-to-image prompt feature is currently available in 75 languages. So far, Generative AI by Getty Images is not available for public use yet and can only be accessed via API or requesting a demo.
How to Use
- Go to gettyimages.com
- Find and click the Generative AI logo next to the Cart button on the upper right.
- On the next page, click ‘Request Demo’ for access.
- This will open a form for you to fill in your contact details for the sales team.
Improve Content Creation for Your Business With AI
The rise of AI image generators has revolutionized the way we create and interact with visual content. With a wide range of platforms available, each offering unique features and capabilities, choosing the best AI image generator depends on your specific needs and preferences.
Whether you’re a professional designer, a marketer, or simply an enthusiast looking to explore the world of AI-generated art, these powerful tools offer endless possibilities to unleash your creativity and bring your imagination to life.
Featured Image by freepik
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