MS Paint Gets a Makeover: Microsoft's AI Integration Explained

AI Comes to MS Paint

If your artistic style leans more toward stick figures than masterpieces, Microsoft has a solution to spark your creativity: it’s adding artificial intelligence to its Paint app.

The company is rolling out new AI tools for Paint as part of a Windows 11 update.

Microsoft—like its Big Tech rivals—is weaving AI into its consumer products, from virtual chatbot assistants to note-taking and editing tools.

But… MS Paint? It’s one of the simplest apps Microsoft makes and has changed little since it debuted in 1985. It’s about as basic as it gets.

Plus, one of the most enduring aspects of the AI boom has been the fascination with AI-generated artwork.

Since the initial launch of OpenAI’s DALL·E image creation tool in 2021, the concept of text-to-image artwork—where you type your idea and AI produces a matching image—has not just captivated people; it’s become a focus of some Big Tech products.

The latest Windows update will give Paint new features like “generative fill,” a tool that lets users add AI-generated graphics to their art by typing what they want to see, Dave Grochocki, a product manager at Microsoft, said in a blog post Wednesday. Users will be able to create and edit AI images on top of their existing artwork.

The update will first be available to people registered in the Windows Insider program. This is where users can preview new company offerings. To use generative fill, users must also have computers equipped with Microsoft Copilot+, the company’s newest version of AI software.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for additional comment.

The update will also give more users in Europe access to Image Creator. This AI image generator was introduced to Paint in 2023. It is powered by DALL·E, thanks to Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI.

Paint is among the latest staple tech apps to incorporate AI. This technology could change so much about art. It has so far produced uses of varying effects. These effects include a flood of odd AI spam on social media.

Facebook users have complained about an increase in AI-generated spam content on the platform, as new AI tools make it easier than ever to generate large numbers of fake images.

On Meta’s recent quarterly earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he was aware of how much AI content was on Facebook and Instagram. He plans to keep feeding users even more AI-generated images across their feeds.

“I think we’re going to add a whole new category of content. This includes AI-generated or AI-summarized content. It could also be existing content pulled together by AI in some way,” Zuckerberg said. “And I think that that’s going to be just very exciting for Facebook and Instagram and maybe Threads or other kind of feed experiences over time.”

Paint has existed since Microsoft first launched Windows in 1985. The artistic application has gone through changes over the decades but has ultimately endured as a core part of Microsoft’s offerings—not to mention a cultural aesthetic of the early digital era and internet boom.

Revamping Paint is another example of Microsoft aiming to keep an edge in the AI race. In October, Microsoft introduced a sweeping update to its Copilot virtual assistant. This update aimed to make it more useful and user-friendly. Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, previously told CNN.

Microsoft users will also see AI features in Notepad, its writing platform, allowing them to use the new technology to help rewrite or edit sentences. For example, users can type a sentence and then prompt the AI tool to rewrite it or modify its tone or length.

In October, Apple unveiled its first set of AI features for the iPhone as part of its iOS 18.1 software update. Apple’s “Writing Tools,” an editing tool, is similar to Microsoft’s AI features in Notepad.

Another new feature in MS Paint is “generative erase,” an AI tool that lets users remove unwanted objects from their images without distorting the background. The generative erase feature is available to all Microsoft PCs with Windows 11.