5 of Instagram’s New Generative AI Tools Set to Transform Social Media Marketing
While Threads has fast become a key area of development for the Instagram team, they’re still working to integrate generative AI elements as well.
In June Meta said, “In the last year we’ve seen some incredible breakthroughs on generative AI. These give us the opportunity to now take that technology, push it forward, and build it into every single one of our products.”
We’ve already witnessed Meta’s inaugural experiments in this regard, as it’s tested generative AI tools for ad creation. But furthermore, Instagram is now developing other creative AI tools for users—and today I’ve laid out the 5 we and our clients are most excited about at my own performance marketing agency, Pixated!
1) Visual Editing Tools
Instagram is experimenting with generative AI tools enabling creators to remove or even replace elements of their uploads within the creation process. For example, with AI brush they can switch out parts of an image and use generative AI to fill the gaps, and with Restyle they can recreate sections of an uploaded image by using text prompts.
2) Generative AI Sticker Creation
Instagram’s new generative AI sticker tool will enable creators to make custom graphics based on text prompts. This will pave the way for visual AI creation in-stream, which you can then add to your posts and Stories.
3) Labels on AI-generated Content
As well as working on new creation tools, Instagram is also looking to improve transparency around generative AI content in general. In this vein, the platform is testing labels to say when a visual has been created using Meta’s own generative AI tools.
Moreover, the company will be calling on users to add a Created by AI marker to posts they upload that have been created using AI tools from outside Meta. Given the explosive rise in generative AI use, this could prove a seriously important indicator to ensure even further transparency—although of course many will try to get around adding the tag in the hope of persuading users that their visual isn’t AI-created.
4) AI Chatbot
Instagram is experimenting with a new conversational UI, built into DM threads and similar to Snapchat’s My AI chatbot tool. All a user needs to do to summon the tool is type @ai into the chat field. Then they can ask the chatbot questions, all in-stream!
5) Message Summary
This list wouldn’t be complete without mention of Instagram’s latest AI-powered tool for summarising DMs, saving users heaps of time. After all, as more and more interactions on the platforms switch to DMs, users’ time becomes increasingly pressed—although some will always question to what extent AI can truly understand the context of any given DM.
Mark My Words—We’ve Not Seen Snything Yet
Instagram’s raft of new tools is seriously exciting—and what’s even more exciting is that this is only the beginning for the implementation of generative AI on social media platforms.
The ultimate test of generative AI tools, at least for the time being, will be how artists can leverage them to create new and human-centred forms of art. That may sound counterintuitive—but when you think about it, the core of art could be said to be the extent to which it connects to the human experience. AI often feels lifeless because it can’t emulate this intangible quality—but generative AI is changing that, by producing art that people simply can’t tell apart from that created by their fellow man.
As generative AI gets smarter, so social media users and marketers alike will be able to use them more smartly—which is why it’s such a boon to marketers that we get to play with these tools in their nascent stages.
There’s no word from Instagram yet on when they’ll be officially rolled out, but one thing’s for sure: you can expect to see way more AI functions merging with your feed in the not-too-distant future.
