Four Ways You Can Start Using AI Today!
Let’s face it, AI is everywhere these days and it’s not going away anytime soon. Between lawsuits involving deep fakes, copyright issues, and the threat of taking away our jobs, the AI landscape can be a difficult one to navigate.
While AI is certainly a popular topic, most people still haven’t fully adopted it. Companies like Google and Microsoft have launched their own array of AI tools, and the recently released iPhone 16 does feature Adaptive Intelligence which is described as “your personal intelligence system that helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly.” These features and new technology are great, but like anything else there is always a learning curve before it’s completely embraced.
So how does this relate to you and your marketing goals? Well, if you haven’t dabbled into the world of AI yet, there are plenty of easy ways to start and get a feel for it.
First up is Microsoft’s Bing Image Generator. This AI-powered text-to-image generator only requires that you sign up for a free Microsoft account to use. There are additional features available if you are a paid Microsoft 365 user, but regardless it’s a great place to start if you are just looking to explore how AI takes a simple text prompt and returns images to you.
Here I searched “Teddy Bear Playing Basketball On Mars”. The tool will return four images to you that you can choose from and if you simply enter the prompt again, it will give you four new ones. However, if the first prompt isn’t what you’re looking for it’s best to tweak your search phrase to be more specific.
Another helpful tip is to get creative and add in details such as locations, adjectives and even artistic styles. Do you want your image to be photorealistic or look hand drawn?
You do need to be careful about attempting to use these standalone images and passing them off as your own. However, they can be extremely helpful as a starting point or to provide some inspiration for your next project.
Google Gemini
Gemini is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Google. Described as a creative AI collaborator, Google Gemini is free to use for users 18 and over with a personal Google Account or a Google Workspace account in which your admin has enabled access.
While Gemini does offer a similar text-to-image generator, it also includes AI tools that can assist you in writing, creative brainstorming or to help you get started on your next meeting agenda or meal plan.
For example, I entered “Come up with tag lines for a summer outdoor movie series in Kentucky” and below are the results:
Short and Sweet:
"Kentucky Nights, Big Screens."
"Movies Under the Bluegrass."
"Summer Flicks, Kentucky Style."
Playful and Fun:
"Popcorn, Stars, and Kentucky Grass."
"Reel in the Fun This Summer."
"Kentucky's Biggest Drive-In."
After the results have been generated, you can continue to chat within the tool and fine tune things if they still need tweaking. Perhaps next you need a logo, enter that into the prompt and it will provide descriptions of various logo concepts including color palettes, fonts and images.
Gemini is also very useful for getting started when drafting up specific documents. Giving a speech? Gemini can instantly help craft an outline for you and provide you with a quick and easy starting point.
Adobe Photoshop Generative Fill
Last, but certainly not least is the Adobe Photoshop Generative Fill tool. This new feature within Adobe Photoshop is extremely powerful for image manipulation and photo editing, however it does require having Adobe Photoshop version 25.0
While some of the features and functions of Generative Fill are like other AI image generators, what sets it apart is how it integrates with the photoshop software. Not only can you add images, remove objects and refine your images, but you can also extend your original photos to create more useful images. It does take a little bit of time to get the hang of depending on the photo, but below is an example of how it can be used.
The photo on the left is the original image. Then, by simply expanding the background and creating more space to the left, we were able to make it appear as if the photo taken had more grass and a tree beside it. Then using that new image, we can overlay our copy and logo to produce the final graphic.
These three examples are only the very tip of the iceberg regarding the full power of AI as it is currently and what the future holds. Getting familiar with these tools can go a long way in staying up to speed with things as they advance. Even if it’s just for fun, we suggest giving one or more of these examples a try and let us know how it goes!
Have an AI specific question we didn’t cover? Shoot us an email and we’ll do our best to help,