One of the most fun applications of AI is using it to generate images because it can bring anything you can think of to life visually. OpenAI kicked off the image generation craze with the release of DALL-E 2, but since then, it has paywalled unlimited access to its latest model, DALL-E 3. Now, Microsoft is offering a workaround.

On Wednesday, Microsoft unveiled several upgrades to its Bing Image Generator. The biggest standout is that it is now powered by OpenAI’s latest DALL-E 3 model, PR16. This will guarantee users an improved experience that is twice as fast and of higher quality.

Also: The best AI image generators of 2024: Tested and reviewed

The experience is free and accessible on the Image Creator standalone site, which has now been redesigned to have a more intuitive, clean, and minimalistic UI for easier navigation. Previously, the site was black, pink, and slightly overwhelming, making this upgrade much welcome.

Users can also create images directly from the Bing and Microsoft Edge search bar, making image creation even more accessible. All you have to do is type a prompt such as “create an image of [insert what you want generated]” into the search bar to get results.

Lastly, to make it easier to share your creations, Microsoft added sharing capabilities for more social media platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram messages. All of these improvements began rolling out across all platforms yesterday, with a refreshed homepage coming soon to mobile devices, according to Microsoft.

The company also reassures users that guardrails have been implemented to create a safe experience, such as blocking prompts for potentially harmful images, including a watermark in the bottom corner of each image, and adding content credentials for each image.

Also: Gemini Advanced users can now access Google’s most experimental model

The major advantage of Bing Image Creator is that to access DALL-E 3 through an OpenAI offering, you have to pay $20 per month through a ChatGPT Plus subscription for unlimited renditions. Otherwise, free users are limited to two per day.

While DALL-E 3 renders outputs that adhere to the prompt, ZDNET’s testing found that it is not the most realistic, especially compared to other models, such as Google’s Imagen 3, while being more expensive. All the images generated in this article were created using Bing Image Creator, and there is a synthetic look to them. Therefore, if you want to try DALL-E 3, the best alternative is Microsoft Image Creator, as the subscription doesn’t seem worth it.