- WhatsApp is reportedly working on implementing a new generative AI 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 receive an AI-powered tool that will give users even more ways to communicate.
The Meta-owned messaging service is reportedly working on a feature that will allow users to create personalized avatars of themselves in any imaginary environment.
By uploading a collection of photos, WhatsApp users will be able to train Meta’s artificial intelligence to create realistic digital renderings of them.
However, the first screenshots of the new update bear a striking resemblance to Apple’s similar “Image Playground” tool that was announced last month.
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This update, first spotted by WABetaInfo, was disguised as 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 once and then imagine yourself in any environment from a forest to outer space.”
The sample images in the screenshot show a female avatar in various aesthetic styles and backgrounds.
Users are expected to be able to set them as their WhatsApp profile picture or even send them to friends.
To use this feature, WhatsApp users will have to upload at least one photo of themselves.
These will be used to train the generative artificial intelligence model Llama, which is responsible for creating the images.
Once the images are uploaded, users simply type “Picture me…” into the Meta AI chatbot in the app and add the description they want generated.
Alternatively, AI Meta will be accessed through any WhatsApp conversation by writing “@Meta AI imagine me…”.
While users must upload an image to access this feature, WABetainfo also states that the reference image can be deleted at any time using the Meta AI settings.
This feature will also be completely optional and users will have to manually activate the AI ​​option to use it.
It’s currently in beta, which means it hasn’t finished development yet, and Meta hasn’t given a full rollout date.
Meta AI is available to a small group of users in the US, but is expected to be expanded later this year.
Similar to other AI image generators like Lensa AI or Snapchat’s “Dream” feature, the new Meta feature appears to use a combination of user-generated images and text prompts.
However, the most striking similarity is with the AI ​​image generation feature that Apple unveiled at WWDC called Image Playground.
Set to be released as part of Apple Intelligence in iOS 18, the feature allows users to create AI avatars using photos of real people.
With Image Playground, users will be able to create images in seconds, choosing from three styles – “animation”, “illustration” and “sketch”.
The promotional image appears to show a photo of a person transforming into a video game-style 3D avatar in a spacesuit.
It’s just one of many AI features Apple has revealed, including the ability 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.