AI-based services for all: image generators for social media
In the previous installment of this unsystematic “AI-based services for all” series, we covered tools that simplify the use of Excel, a powerful yet hard-to-master spreadsheet editor and calculator, plus similar software. This piece tackles a completely different domain: social media, the visual part thereof, specifically.
AI image generators have been used to create this sort of content since the first day of their availability to the public, so they are not something totally new. Bearing this in mind, we decided to skip describing Midjourney and the likes in this piece, and instead give you lesser known AI tools that are perfect for social media imagery.
1. Adobe Firefly
We’ve written about the launch of the video component of this service recently: today, Adobe Firefly is about pictures both static and dynamic. It is part of Adobe’s suite of tools, perfectly integrated therewith, as expected, so if you’re a Photoshop user, there simply is no reason to look beyond this AI-driven image (and video!) generator.
Adobe Firefly, with its extensive customization options and assorted effects, is great for creating professional-looking visuals with a focus on artistic styles. Another plus of this image generation tool is that it produces commercially safe content, i.e., you can use it however you like without fear of being sued for intellectual property infringement.
The free plan offers a limited amount of generative credits (used as payment for generations); paid plans start at $9.99 a month
2. Freepik
Freepik is one of the most popular free photo stock sites on the web: its monthly audience exceeds 41 million users, and half a million of them are premium subscribers. The site was launched in 2010 as a search engine for all sorts of free content, but soon evolved (pivoted?) into one of the largest collections of stock photos, illustrations, vectors, and other visuals.
Today, Freepik aims to be a one-stop solution for creative folk, offering AI-powered design tools and, of course, an AI image generator, which is complete with post-generation editing tools and a prompt enhancer that also relies on artificial intelligence.
Freepik operates on a freemium model; as a non-paying user, you can generate 20 images, but they are not for commercial use. Paid plans start at €5 a month.
3. Canva AI Image Generator
Canva is another name that comes to mind of millions of creative professionals all around the world when there is a “make-something-beautiful” task at hand. Hailing from Australia, this service, launched in 2013, is very easy to use and offers an extensive library of templates that allow solving most design-related problems without breaking a sweat.
Canva’s AI image generator is integrated into the editor, which advances the utility of the service even further. Moreover, Canva knows a thing or two about social media, and this knowledge is well invested into the aforementioned templates and the generator settings.
There is a free plan to the service that’s good for most personal-use purposes; paid plans, which open up new fonts, animations, and a sundry of other design tools, start at $14.99 a month.
4. DreamStudio
Stability AI may not be mentioned in the news as often as OpenAI and its ChatGPT, but it actually is a big name in the AI game. It is simply focused on image generation, a domain less popular among the masses than simple querying for answers. DreamStudio is Stability AI’s image generation platform and it is truly cutting-edge.
Currently, DreamStudio is perceived as an efficient text-to-image processing tool with functions and features to rival those of the famous DALL-E. In terms of social media, it is a great choice when you need unique, artistic visuals that can capture attention.
As of this writing, there are no plans at DreamStudio per se; you get a hundred credits upon signing up (enough for 500 generated images at default settings), and after that the price is $1.18 for every 100 generation credits.
5. Ideogram
Ideogram joined the AI image generation race quite recently, in 2022, and actually made big waves from the outset: its model v.0.1 was supported by a seed round of $16.5 million, and when the team released v.1.0, assorted investors added $80 million more. Such generosity, although not unheard of, typically means the product does have a good market fit.
From the point of view of users, Ideogram has one very important feature that sets it apart from many competitors: it can generate images with legible text. Plus, as the name hints, the service is ideal for social media graphics, from posters through collages to artistic renders, all editable after generation in Canvas.
There is a free plan that will be ok for casual users, but those wishing to really tap into the power of Ideogram can switch to a paid deal, which starts at $7 a month.
Need some tools to work images on your computer, offline, old school? Here’s a good selection:
