Microsoft Designer, an AI-driven design tool, has debuted in public preview, featuring an expanded range of capabilities.
Initially announced in October, Designer is a web app akin to Canva that produces designs for presentations, posters, digital postcards, invitations, graphics, and more to be shared on social media and other platforms. It employs user-generated content and DALL-E 2, OpenAI’s text-to-image AI, to create designs, while offering drop-downs and text boxes for additional customization and personalization.
“Since October, the AI models have continuously improved, and we’ve incorporated these powerful features into the Designer canvas in increasingly delightful ways, all while maintaining user control,” wrote Bryan Rognier, GM at Microsoft’s 365 Consumer division, in a blog post released today.
Designer now has the ability to generate relevant captions and hashtags for social media posts, providing users with multiple options to choose from. Additionally, it can produce AI-powered animated visuals, complete with backgrounds and text transitions.
Regarding recent legal questions surrounding AI-generated image systems, Microsoft asserts that users will have “full” usage rights to commercialize the images created with Designer and Image Creator. However, it remains to be seen if this stance may change in light of ongoing legal disputes involving OpenAI and other companies that capitalize on generative AI tools.
