Adobe Integrates Photoshop, Acrobat, Express with ChatGPT

Adobe launched its popular creative and productivity apps Photoshop, Adobe Express and Acrobat for ChatGPT this week, enabling users to edit images, animate elements and modify PDFs by simply asking the chatbot. “Now hundreds of millions of people can edit with Photoshop simply by using their own words, right inside a platform that’s already part of their day-to-day,” said Adobe President of Digital Media David Wadhwani. Photoshop, Express and Acrobat for ChatGPT are currently free for ChatGPT users, available via desktop, web and iOS. Adobe Express for ChatGPT has Android support, which is coming soon for Acrobat and Photoshop. Continue reading Adobe Integrates Photoshop, Acrobat, Express with ChatGPT

Google Adds New Features to Its Flow GenAI Storytelling Tool

Google has added four new features in Flow, its AI tool for storytelling, that offer more precise control over images and videos. The upgrades include generative imaging with Nano Banana Pro, doodle prompts, an object insertion/removal tool and camera motion. Flow was introduced in May and offers the ability to edit and build scenes using natural language. The improvements aim to make Flow output more polished. “In Flow, you can use images to serve as the characters, subjects and starting points for your clips” with pictures you upload or create in Flow with the new “Images” tab, according to the company. Continue reading Google Adds New Features to Its Flow GenAI Storytelling Tool

Google Adds Deep Research, New File Types to NotebookLM

Google is adding Deep Research to its AI-powered writing and research assistant NotebookLM, adding agentic capabilities that transform it to an autonomous research agent that can find and evaluate information on its own. Previously NotebookLM was limited to retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). Now, led by your questions, Deep Research browses hundreds of websites, refining its search as it learns, generating within minutes an organized, source-grounded report that can be added to your notebook. Google is also adding support for more file types, including photos — allowing you to upload snapshots of notes — Google Sheets and Microsoft Word documents. Continue reading Google Adds Deep Research, New File Types to NotebookLM

Gemini’s Nano Banana Image Editor Added to Google Photos

As promised last month, Google Photos is getting AI enhancements powered by Gemini’s top-rated image editing model Nano Banana. Users can now open a photo, select “Help me edit” and type “Remove Riley’s sunglasses, open my eyes, make Engel smile and open her eyes” to quickly doctor a shot. Photos will draw on images from your private library of “face groups” to generate “personalized, accurate edits of people in your photo library,” Google says. The company is also introducing a new “Ask” button to get information about photos and make requests and expanding natural language instruction. Continue reading Gemini’s Nano Banana Image Editor Added to Google Photos

Sony Debuts Benchmark for Measuring Computer Vision Bias

Sony AI has introduced the Fair Human-Centric Image Benchmark (FHIBE, pronounced “Fee-bee”), a new global benchmark for fairness evaluation in computer vision models. FHIBE addresses the industry challenge of identifying biased and ethically compromised training data for AI, aiming to trigger “industry-wide improvements for responsible and ethical protocols throughout the entire life span of data — from sourcing and management to utilization — including fair compensation for participants and clear consent mechanisms,” Sony AI says. The FHIBE dataset is publicly available now, following publication in the science journal Nature. Continue reading Sony Debuts Benchmark for Measuring Computer Vision Bias

Affinity by Canva Is a Free Photo, Design and Layout Bundle

Canva has retooled the pricing of its Affinity image-editing and publishing apps to better compete with Adobe. The company announced a new offering that bundles Affinity’s Photo, Publisher and Designer apps into a software package called “Affinity by Canva” that is free for users with a Canva account but requires a paid subscription to access generative AI features. Canva’s paid subscription plans start at $120 a year for individuals. Previously, Affinity software was available by perpetual license, a pricing option that Canva — which purchased Affinity late last year — is retiring. Canva also had to reconcile its acquisition’s anti-AI stance, something it seems to have accomplished. Continue reading Affinity by Canva Is a Free Photo, Design and Layout Bundle

Meta AI Wants to Parse Your Camera Roll to Suggest Styling

For those who may be too busy to look through their smartphone’s camera rolls, Meta Platforms has debuted a new Facebook feature that will parse collections for you, then recommend “fun” edits and collages to make the content more shareable. The feature could also offer ideas such as recaps and birthday themes. Available to users in the U.S. and Canada, to leverage this new AI-powered feature, one must opt-in, and it can be turned off at any time. Once a suggestion is reviewed, the user can then determine whether they want to share it and with whom. Then it’s just a one-click share through Facebook or Messenger. Continue reading Meta AI Wants to Parse Your Camera Roll to Suggest Styling

Bitmoji Plaza: Snapchat Is Launching Virtual World on the Web

Snapchat is developing a virtual 3D world where users can adopt Bitmoji avatars and socialize in an immerse digital environment. Called “Bitmoji Plaza,” the digital town center will live in the web version of the Snapchat app. The move shows Snap Inc. expanding its horizons and potentially setting up for other virtual worlds in preparation for the 2026 release of the company’s consumer AR glasses. While a Bitmoji world is an elementary transition to the metaverse, Snap is also expanding the use of Bitmoji stickers with a new app that lets Android and iOS users add them to messages. Continue reading Bitmoji Plaza: Snapchat Is Launching Virtual World on the Web

YouTube Labs Invites Users to Test Experimental AI Features

YouTube is introducing YouTube Labs, an experimental hub where users can test the company’s latest artificial intelligence tools and prototypes, starting with AI hosts for YouTube Music. “As you listen to radio and mixes, AI hosts will chime in with relevant stories and insights,” YouTube explains. A brand-specific version of its parent company’s Google Labs, YouTube Labs is positioned as the place “to discover the next generation of YouTube,” and the streaming video giant says that like its predecessor, “feedback and interactions may be used to improve Google products and services.” Continue reading YouTube Labs Invites Users to Test Experimental AI Features

Instagram Touts 3 Billion Global Users, Redesigns Homepage

Instagram has hit 3 billion monthly users, parent Meta Platforms announced this week, an increase of one billion since the company last disclosed figures in October 2022. Meta’s other social platforms, Facebook and WhatsApp, both crossed the 3 billion mark earlier this year. The milestone coincides with a redesign of the Instagram app’s homepage putting more emphasis on Reels short-form videos and private messaging that have largely driven the platform’s growth. Meta has begun testing a version of the app in India that opens directly into Reels instead of a traditional feed. Continue reading Instagram Touts 3 Billion Global Users, Redesigns Homepage

Amazon’s Lens Live Brings Real-Time AI Shopping to Mobile

Amazon has introduced Lens Live, an AI-powered update to the Amazon Lens shopping tool. The app, which works in concert with Amazon’s Rufus shopping assistant, uses smartphone cameras much like Google Lens does with visual search. Pinterest Lens is another such app. But the purpose-built Rufus ties it even more closely to the shopping experience with instant scanning, real-time product matches and insights from Rufus. Lens Live is already available to tens of millions of U.S. users on iOS in the Amazon Shopping app with plans to roll out to all U.S. customers in the coming months. Continue reading Amazon’s Lens Live Brings Real-Time AI Shopping to Mobile

TikTok Tightens Parental Control, Adds Community Footnotes

TikTok has released a host of new features, including a Community Notes-style fact-checking tool called Footnotes. Enhanced parental controls bring the ability to block specific accounts to guardians who are linked to minors’ accounts using the Family Pairing feature. Parents also now receive notifications when minors with whom they are paired upload new videos, stories or photos. Creator enhancements include a new TikTok Live comment tool that can block words from comment threads entirely. Those who use a specific phrase or have used it in the past are muted for a period stipulated by the creator. Continue reading TikTok Tightens Parental Control, Adds Community Footnotes

Google Photos, YouTube Shorts Offer New AI Creation Tools

Google has added new AI features to Google Photos and YouTube Shorts. Having previously introduced generative backgrounds, YouTube Shorts now has a photo-to-video feature, as well as a variety of menu-driven effects accessible via the Shorts camera that aim to advance social media or arts project creativity — things like turning line drawings into watercolors, putting a selfie “underwater” or adding a digital twin. And Google Photos, available on just about every Android phone, now also has the ability to turn stills to video. For now, both rely on the Veo 2 video model rather than Veo 3, launched in May. Continue reading Google Photos, YouTube Shorts Offer New AI Creation Tools

Google Offers Gemini AI Subscribers Photo-to-Video Function

Google has added photo-to-video capability to its Gemini AI app. Powered by Veo 3, Google’s latest generative video model, launched in May, Gemini AI can now turn images into 8-second videos complete with AI-generated sound including speech, environmental sounds and background noises. Available now via the Web to anyone with a $20 per month Google AI Pro subscription or those on the $125 per quarter Google AI Ultra plan, the new feature is also being released to mobile users this month for both iOS and Android devices. The videos are finished as 720p resolution MP4 files in 16:9 landscape format. Continue reading Google Offers Gemini AI Subscribers Photo-to-Video Function

Google Doppl Lets You Try on Outfits Using Generative Video

Google Labs is testing Doppl, an experimental app that uses AI to let you virtually try on clothes. Available on iOS and Android in the U.S., Doppl requires the user to upload a full body photo to which images of outfits can then be applied. It will work with various types of outfit photos, from pictures taken with a smartphone to screen grabs from shopping sites or social media. Doppl can also create AI-generated videos from a static image to give an idea of what the outfit would look like from different angles when worn. While Google hopes Doppl “helps you explore your style in new and exciting ways,” it cautions that the app “is in its early days and it might not always get things right.” Continue reading Google Doppl Lets You Try on Outfits Using Generative Video