You can now use Microsoft's AI to create images using just your words

Just when Google opened up public access to its conversational AI “Bard,” Microsoft up and announced its new Bing Image Creator — an AI-powered told that can turn your words into images.

Text-to-image creation isn’t a new concept. There are multiple AI image generators available on the web right now. However, Bing is only now getting the feature thanks to Microsoft’s investment in ChatGPT-creator OpenAI. The artificial intelligence firm is also known for its own neural network called DALL.E, which generates images from text prompts. Microsoft says its version is powered by an advanced version of the DALL.E model.

Bing Image Creator works in the same way as DALL.E. You type in the description of the image you want the AI to create, and it takes a few seconds to give you four options. We used it to create some logos for our website. Here’s what they look like.

“By typing in a description of an image, providing additional context like location or activity, and choosing an art style, Image Creator will generate an image from your own imagination,” says Microsoft.

That said, there are some limits to Bing Image Creator. For instance, it may not generate images based on celebrities or other public figures and organizations. We asked it to generate a poster for a Rihanna concert in New York, and the following content warning popped up on the screen:

This prompt has been blocked. Our system flagged this prompt because it may conflict with our content policy. More policy violations may lead to automatic suspension of your access.

“To curb the potential misuse of Image creator, we are working together with our partner OpenAI, who developed DALL∙E, to deliver an experience that encourages responsible use of Image Creator. We have ensured OpenAI’s safeguards, plus additional protections, have been incorporated into Image Creator,” explains Microsoft.

So Microsoft probably blocked our ask for a Rihanna concert poster to prevent any kind of misuse of the image, which seems like the right move.

If you want to try out the new Bing Image creator, you can get onto bing.com/create from any browser. Alternatively, if you’re enrolled in the new Bing preview, the Bing Image Creator will be fully integrated with Bing Chat in Creative mode. Microsoft is also integrating it into the Edge browser. You can simply click on the Bing Image Creator icon on the sidebar of the browser to start generating AI images.

The service only supports the English language right now, but Microsoft says it’ll add support for more languages over time.