- WhatsApp is reportedly working on implementing a new AI generation feature
- Users may soon be able to generate AI avatars on the popular messaging app
It is the most popular messaging app for millions of users worldwide.
And now, WhatsApp may soon get an AI-powered tool that gives users even more ways to communicate.
The Meta-owned messaging service is said to be working on a feature that will allow users to make custom avatars of themselves in any environment imaginable.
By uploading a collection of photos, WhatsApp users will be able to train Meta’s artificial intelligence to create realistic digital renderings of their likeness.
However, early screenshots of the new update bear a striking resemblance to Apple’s similar ‘Image Playground’ tool announced last month.
WhatsApp is reportedly preparing to roll out a new AI avatar generator feature that allows users to create images from their photos. Pictured is a leaked screenshot from WABetaInfo
First spotted by WABetaInfo, this update was hiding a new beta version of WhatsApp that could be released later this year as part of a software update.
A screenshot of the beta feature instructs users to ‘take a photo of themselves once, then imagine themselves in any environment from the forest to outer space’.
The sample images included in the screenshot show a female avatar in a variety of different aesthetic styles and backgrounds.
It is thought that users will be able to set them as their WhatsApp profile picture or even send them to friends.
To use the feature, WhatsApp users will need to upload at least one photo of themselves.
WhatsApp users will be able to access the Meta AI service by typing in a specific conversation or typing ‘@Meta AI’ in any conversation
These will be used to train the Llama AI generative model, which is responsible for creating the images.
Once the images have been uploaded, users will simply type “Imagine with…” into the chatbot within the Meta AI app and add the description they want to generate.
Alternatively, Meta’s AI will be accessed through any WhatsApp conversation by typing ‘@Meta AI imagine me…’.
While users must upload an image to access the feature, WABetainfo also reports that the reference image can be deleted at any time through the Meta AI settings.
The feature will also be completely optional and users will have to manually enable the AI option in order to use it.
It’s currently in beta, which means it hasn’t finished development yet, and Meta hasn’t given a date for a full release.
Meta AI is available to a small group of users in the US, but is expected to roll out more widely later this year.
Similar to other AI image generators such as AI Lens or Snapchat’s ‘Dream’ feature, Meta’s new feature appears to use a combination of user-generated images and text prompts.
However, the most striking similarity is to an AI-powered image generation feature Apple unveiled at WWDC called Image Playground.
This feature, which will be released as part of Apple Intelligence in iOS 18, allows users to create AI avatars using photos of real people.
Apple’s Image Playground lets users create fun images in seconds, choosing from three styles – Animation, Illustration and Sketch
With Image Playground, users will be able to create images in seconds, choosing from three styles – ‘animation’, ‘illustration’ and ‘sketch’.
A promotional image appears to show a photo of a person turning into a video game-style 3D avatar wearing a spacesuit.
It’s just one of many AI features revealed by Apple, including the option to create AI-generated emojis from text prompts.
UK and EU users will have to wait until at least 2025 to access the features due to an ongoing regulatory dispute between Apple and the EU.
However, it is not clear whether Apple Image Playground will allow these images to be used as profiles or avatars in the same way as the new WhatsApp feature.
Meta declined to comment when contacted by MailOnline.
