Instagram Releases new Features such as A Clip Hub, Picture Filters, Personalized AI Stickers, and More
Instagram is rolling out a new feature that lets users use AI to make personalized stickers for their Reels and Stories, in addition to a slew of changes for creators. The stickers, which are powered by Meta’s Segment Anything AI model, may be made by selecting suitable images and videos from Instagram or by uploading your own from your phone’s Camera Roll.
The AI model is similar to the image cutout function that launched with the release of iOS 16 in that it allows you to “cut out” any object within an image with a single click. By tapping and holding on the subject of the photo, Apple iMessage also lets you create your own stickers, such as a sticker of your beloved pet, which lifts it out of the background.
Much the same is true with Meta’s personalized Instagram stickers. The subject of the photo will be automatically highlighted in photos when you point the app at a specific piece of media. However, you have the option to manually choose the sticker’s subject if the AI chooses the wrong one or if you wish to make some changes. After that, select “Use Sticker” to include the stored sticker in your Story or Reel.
The new “Create” option under the sticker search entry box next to Poll, Add Yours, Quiz, and other options will allow users to access the feature.
It should be noted that this personalized sticker differs from the previously released AI stickers, which allowed users to type text and have a sticker created for them automatically with prompts. At its Meta Connect event in September, the company showcased this technology, which is driven by Emu, its new foundational model for image generation. In order to demonstrate the functionality, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg typed out absurd concepts like “Hungarian sheepdog driving a 4×4,” for instance. Throughout the month that followed the event, that feature was gradually made available to English-speaking users.
Along with a number of other creator-focused features for Instagram and Reels, such as new “undo” and “redo” options for Reels, tools to adjust, crop, and rotate individual clips, and access to a new Media Clip hub for creating memes by including audio clips in your Reels, the new custom AI stickers—which are currently referred to as a “test”—arrived.
Unexpectedly, the business also introduced fresh picture filters for Posts, a function that was crucial to Instagram’s early success but was subsequently shelved as the social media platform focused on video, stories, and reels. According to a blog post by Instagram, the filters come in two varieties: ones for more “expressive styles” and ones for “subtle color edits.”
In addition, the company added support for outlines, six new text fonts and styles, and ten new English text-to-speech voices (available in certain countries).
Instagram also made changes to other features, such as a simplified view of Drafts that allows you to schedule and rename files, as well as new ways to find and access trending audio or the audio browser from the top of the Camera Roll. In addition, you can now search and zoom through your Camera Roll to find the pictures and videos you wish to use.
Instagram and Facebook are adding a new Reels metric called “Replays” for creators who are tracking metrics. This metric will now be combined with “Initial Plays” to provide a total “Plays” figure. The “Initial Plays” figure will still assist creators in understanding their reach in terms of individual users, even though it is slightly inflating Reels’ numbers because a user who watches a Reel twice or more is still only one user. In the future, creators will have access to an interactive, real-time Retention Chart that displays the number of viewers of their Reel, according to Meta.
The new features on Instagram are being rolled out starting today, but it might take a few days for everyone to see them because updates are not always instantly visible.