Insta's new AI editing tool lets you edit image background via prompts

San Francisco: Meta-owned Instagram has launched a new AI media editing tool called "backdrop" that will let you edit an image background of your choice through prompts for Stories.

The company initially launched the feature for users in the US.

"Our AI media editing tool backdrop is available on Instagram in the US! With backdrop, you can reimagine your image’s background with just a few taps and a prompt like ‘chased by dinosaurs’ or ‘surrounded by puppies’ to create an entirely new image for your Story," Meta’s lead for generative AI, Ahmad Al-Dahle posted in Threads.

You will need to tap the button for 'backdrop' at the top of a new Story to get started.

Once you’ve posted, a 'Try it' sticker will appear when you share the image created, making it even easier for your friends to use the new AI editing for the first time, Al-Dahle explained.

Meanwhile, Instagram is expanding its Close Friends feature beyond Stories and Notes to feed posts and Reels.

Now, users will be able to share Reels and feed posts with a smaller, more trusted group instead of everyone who follows them, according to Engadget.

The company said that folks use Close Friends "as a pressure-free space to connect with the people that matter most."

The developers hope that by expanding the Close Friends option to Reels and feed posts, users will have "more ways to be your most authentic self on Instagram while having more choices over who sees your content".