One simple prompt can make AI images come alive in Facebook Messenger and Instagram

Meta AI on a smartphone
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Meta AI has one of the easiest ways of generating AI images I’ve tried, superior even to Gemini’s Imagen 3 and ChatGPT’s DALL-E 3 on their free tiers, because there are very few restrictions on how many images you can create, or what type of images.

On their free tiers, Google’s Gemini image creation won’t let you create images of people at all, and ChatGPT’s DALL-E 3 limits you to just a few images a day. In contrast, Meta AI will let you create images of people without a problem (just not famous people), and I've tried hard to hit a daily limit, but haven’t managed it yet.

Launching Meta AI

You can get to Meta AI in a variety of ways. There's the website meta.ai, which is great if you're on a laptop, but the easiest way is via Meta's suite of social apps – Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Meta AI should be available outside Europe, but the UK launch, for instance, is still rolling out. Meta AI supposedly launched in the UK two weeks ago; however most UK people I’ve talked to say it’s still not available in Meta’s apps yet, but that should change any day now. You'll know when you've got it because you'll see a Meta AI logo in your app's menu bar.

Using AI in an app like Messenger might feel unintuitive at first, but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense, since Meta AI is essentially a chatbot, exactly like ChatGPT is. Messenger is therefore the perfect app in which to use a chatbot, since you use it to chat with people already.

Meta AI in Messenger on a smartphone.

(Image credit: Meta AI)

Into the Metaverse

To launch Meta AI all you need to do is tap the icon that’s next to Chats in the bottom menu bar, and you’ll initiate a conversation with the Meta AI chatbot. Just like ChatGPT you can ask it to help you with anything from ideas for Christmas presents for your family to planning a vacation.

You can also invite Meta AI into your group conversations by tapping the @ symbol and then tapping on Meta AI. You can then ask it a question, and everybody in the group chat will see the answer.

One thing Meta AI is very good at is creating images. Just type, “Imagine”, and then type whatever you want to see in the Meta AI chat. As we mentioned there’s no restriction on creating images of people, so prompts like “Imagine an athletic person running in the rain and winning a race” produces an image, like this:

AI image of a runner in the rain.

From the prompt: “Imagine an athletic person running in the rain and winning a race” (Image credit: Meta AI)

Sure, it’s got that slightly fake 'AI' look to it, and the paid-for versions of ChatGPT and Gemini produce much more realistic images, but it’s quick and convenient to use on a smartphone. What’s more, you can then go on and refine it, and Meta AI will know what you’re talking about, so just type “not raining”, and you’ll get another image, of the running person, but not in the rain, like this:

Meta AI image of a runner.

(Image credit: Meta AI)

As you can see there's less rain. I wouldn't say there was no rain, so results aren't always perfect, but you can take it further. If you then type “animate it” you get a great four-second animated version of the same picture. It's even easier to animate images on the meta.ai website as it gives you a button called 'Animate' to click.

Meta AI animation of a runner.

Note: this is a compressed version of the GIF Meta AI produces. (Image credit: Meta AI)

With features like these, Meta AI could soon be my go-to source for creating quick AI images, and animating them – I just didn’t imagine that I’d ever be doing it in the Messenger app!

You might also like...

Graham Barlow
Senior Editor, AI

Graham is the Senior Editor for AI at TechRadar. With over 25 years of experience in both online and print journalism, Graham has worked for various market-leading tech brands including Computeractive, PC Pro, iMore, MacFormat, Mac|Life, Maximum PC, and more. He specializes in reporting on everything to do with AI and has appeared on BBC TV shows like BBC One Breakfast and on Radio 4 commenting on the latest trends in tech. Graham has an honors degree in Computer Science and spends his spare time podcasting and blogging.

Read more
Meta AI on a smartphone
What is Meta AI: everything you need to know about the social network’s AI assistant
Leonardo.AI
I used Leonardo to generate some AI images, and I can’t believe how realistic they are
An image created by Google's Imagen3 artificial intelligence image generator.
What is Imagen 3: everything you need to know about Google's text-to-image model
The Google Gemini logo against a black background.
I tried Gemini's new AI image generation tool - here are 5 ways to get the best art from Google's upcoming Flash 2.0 built-in image upgrade
Leonardo.AI
What is Leonardo.Ai: everything you need to know about the AI art generator
NightCafe
What is NightCafe? Everything we know about the AI image maker
Latest in Artificial Intelligence
Apple WWDC 2025 announced
3 things Apple needs to do at WWDC 2025 to save Apple Intelligence, and why I'm convinced it will
Chat GPT-generated images along with source material
ChatGPT 4o image generation is so good we will never be able to trust iPhone renders (and photos) again
Gemini on a smartphone.
Gemini 2.5 is now available for Advanced users and it seriously improves Google’s AI reasoning
Pixel Studio on an phone
Pixel Studio on the Pixel 9 now lets you generate AI images of people, and the results can be terrifying
Google AI Mode
I tried Google's new AI mode powered by Gemini, and it might be the end of Search as we know it
DeepSeek
DeepSeek’s new AI is smarter, faster, cheaper, and a real rival to OpenAI's models
Latest in Features
The cast of The Residence peek from a doorway
Netflix's #2 most-watched show is the new madcap whodunnit The Residence –here are 3 more mysteries to stream next
Google AI Mode
I tried Google's new AI mode powered by Gemini, and it might be the end of Search as we know it
Saily eSIM by Nord Security
"Much more than just an eSIM service" - I spoke to the CEO of Saily about the future of travel and its impact on secure eSIM technology
A collage image showing images from the TV shows The White Lotus on Max, Black Mirror on Netflix and The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu.
I'm pausing my Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Paramount+ subscriptions in April 2025 – here are the 3 streaming services I'm keeping instead
Gemini on a smartphone.
Gemini is pulling ahead of ChatGPT – combining Deep Research with Audio Overviews is one of the best uses of AI I’ve seen so far
The Rookie
The Rookie is Hulu's #1 show – here are 3 police procedural dramas with over 80% on Rotten Tomatoes to watch next