Microsoft adding a generative AI eraser tool to Windows Photos

Microsoft is the latest big tech company to launch an eraser tool for photos that’s powered by generative AI, joining Google and Samsung.

Announced in a Windows Insider blog post, Microsoft detailed the new ‘Generative erase’ tool coming to Windows Photos. It’s positioned as an upgrade to Photos’ long-time Spot fix tool that allowed people to remove parts of images.

“Compared to Spot fix, Generative erase creates a more seamless and realistic result after objects are erased from the photo, even when erasing large areas,” Microsoft said in the blog post.Moreover, the company outlined that Generative erase can “fix and remove distractions from your photos, like background objects or miscellaneous visual clutter.”

Windows users can access Generative erase in Photos by heading to ‘Edit Image’ and selecting the ‘Erase’ option. The feature works via a brush tool — users brush over the areas they want to remove and then watch the magic generative AI happen. Users can also adjust the brush size for more fine-tune control or brush multiple items at once for removal (though you need to disable Generative erase’s ‘Auto apply’ setting to do this).

Unfortunately, Generative edit access is limited for now. It’s only available to Windows Insiders on Windows 10 and 11 using Arm64 devices. It likely won’t be much longer before Generative erase makes its way to stable Windows.