Earlier today, tech personality Sam Sheffer shared on his X account that Instagram now has an AI expander tool for stories! Check it out:
IG has an AI expander tool in Stories now pic.twitter.com/PglOUVKkoG
— Sam Sheffer (@samsheffer) October 24, 2024
What is this new feature?
This is one of the most useful features Instagram has shipped in years. If you’re like me, you were probably annoyed when Instagram removed that feature that allowed you to ‘scale up’ your horizontal images for vertical stories. I am not sure what happened to it or if I am just missing something, but it’s gone. Or it was! Today Sam Sheffer revealed what Instagram has launched to replace this. A tool that allows you to expand your story using generative AI.
Here’s how it works (according to the IG app)
Expand your image
How to use this tool
You can instantly expand the edges of your photo to fill your story.
How it works
AI can analyze your photo to creatively expand the image.
By using Meta AI, you agree to Meta’s AI terms. Some results may be inaccurate or inappropriate. Interactions with Meta AI may be used to improve AI at Meta.
Keep in mind that there are a few things at play here:
- The results may not always be great.
- Based on their terms, Meta MAY use your content to train and improve it’s AI tools. Make sure you are aware of this before posting anything.
Earlier this year, Instagram shipped AI background tools for Instagram Stories
Engadget shared one of the original stories about this feature and you can read more details of how the AI background tools work. Essentially it can be used to replace and generate backgrounds for your IG stories.
With the reveal of this recent feature, one might wonder how many more AI announcements and features Meta has planned for Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and all of their other apps.
Thoughts from the community
So far, thoughts from the community are sparse. Sam seemed to have a good experience and a few other users replied saying they liked the feature. But it appears like it isn’t available for that many users yet! Have you been able to find the new AI story expander feature in Instagram? Leave a comment below to share what you think about it.