The Latest Iteration of Generative Erase is Set to Debut in the Photos Application on Windows 11 — Extending to Windows 10 as Well
Written by Sean Hollister, a seasoned senior editor and one of the founding members of The Verge, focusing on gadgets, games, and toys. With a background encompassing 15 years of editorial experience at renowned platforms such as CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.
It’s not just Google and Samsung incorporating advanced AI-driven selective photo erasing capabilities into their products — soon, this functionality will become a standard feature for Windows PCs as well. Microsoft has unveiled Generative Erase, a cutting-edge attribute that empowers users to perform similar actions within the integrated Photos app on Windows.
Displayed above and below are demonstrations of Microsoft utilizing generative AI to seamlessly erase a dog’s leash and unintended photobombers from images:
Effortlessly Eliminating Individuals from the Background of a Photograph
While this may not exhibit the same level of novelty as some other AI enhancements you’ve encountered, the beauty lies in the accessibility — you won’t need to acquire a new Pixel or Galaxy device to incorporate this into your workflow. Microsoft has confirmed that it will not only introduce this feature to Windows 11 but also extend all of Photos’ AI editing capabilities to Windows 10, including Windows 11 for Arm64 devices, which encompasses a background removal functionality as well.
As of now, these tools are exclusively available to Windows Insiders. Microsoft states, “This update is commencing its rollout to Windows Insiders across all channels today (including Windows Insiders on Windows 10 in the Release Preview Channel). Ensure that you update your app to version number 2024.11020.21001.0 or later.”
The official blog post from the company does not specify whether AI-enhanced photos will be accompanied by metadata or watermarks to differentiate them from unedited counterparts.
