Microsoft Paint may get Midjourney-like AI art generation feature

Microsoft is reportedly incorporating AI into its Paint application, which will have a Midjourney-like ability to create art in real-time. Although the program has been a mainstay for the tech giant for the past 40 years, it has received few updates over the years.

The popular AI image generator allows you to type a text prompt to create an image in a style of your choice. It has risen to become one of the biggest names in AI alongside DALL-E and Stable Diffusion.

There has been speculation from credible Windows leaker @PhantomOfEarth on X that Paint may be getting a significant update. According to the Windows Latest blog, Microsoft could test a new “Live Canvas Panel” within the Paint app resembling Midjourney. This new addition could resemble Leonardo.Ai’s Live Canvas, an AI-powered feature that instantly generates sketches or digital art using your prompts.

The upcoming AI feature for Paint might be something known as “LiveCanvas”. Not sure what it will do. https://t.co/YwQcC3EPnY

— PhantomOcean3 ☃️ (@PhantomOfEarth) February 26, 2024

However, @PhantomOfEarth stated they were unsure what “Live Canvas” could do. Mayank Parmar of Windows Latest further reported that any sketches could be turned into detailed images and would work instantly.

It’s worth mentioning that Microsoft has already introduced an AI-powered feature known as Paint Cocreator within the Paint application, leveraging OpenAI’s DALL-E text-to-image technology. Like other AI-based image generators, Paint Cocreator will cook up images based on your descriptions.

The product is not free, however. According to its support page for the tool, Microsoft imposed a credit system as virtual currency. By Joining Cocreator, you start off with 50 credits. Each time you create an image, one credit is used. 

Hence, it remains to be seen whether this development will pan out, as there is still little information regarding release dates, whether this would be a paid feature, or how the program would look.

Microsoft branches further into AI

In recent months, Microsoft has been looking to get a larger share of the AI market. The $3 trillion company updated its built-in Photos app with a Google Magic Eraser-like “Generative Erase” feature on Windows 10 and 11.

The tech giant also ramped up marketing of its AI assistant Copilot with an advertisement designed for the Super Bowl, launching on YouTube. The ad highlighted the various ways in which Microsoft expects users to engage with Copilot.

Featured image: Canva

Suswati Basu

Freelance journalist

Suswati Basu is a multilingual, award-winning editor and the founder of the intersectional literature channel, How To Be Books. She was shortlisted for the Guardian Mary Stott Prize and longlisted for the Guardian International Development Journalism Award.

With 18 years of experience in the media industry, Suswati has held significant roles such as head of audience and deputy editor for NationalWorld news, digital editor for Channel 4 News
and ITV News. She has also contributed to the Guardian and received training at the BBC As an audience, trends, and SEO specialist, she has participated in panel events alongside Google.

Her career also includes a seven-year tenure at the leading AI company Dataminr, where she led the Europe desk and launched the company’s first employee resource group for disabilities. Before this, Suswati worked as a journalist in China for four years, investigating censorship and the Great Firewall, and acquired proficiency in several languages.

In recent years, Suswati has been nominated for six awards, including the Independent Podcast Awards, International Women’s Podcast Awards, and the Anthem Awards for her literary social affairs show.

Her areas of speciality span a wide range, including technology, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), social politics, mental health, and nonfiction books.