Is Microsoft's Copilot Image Generator Simplifying Too Much? Art Style Options Disappear

Microsoft's Copilot, powered by Bing, has become a popular tool for generating AI images. Its accessibility and ease of use have drawn in many users who enjoy creating art in various styles. However, recent reports suggest a significant change: Copilot's image generator may have removed the ability to select specific AI art styles.

What Happened to the Art Styles?

A Reddit user, Vladie, recently posted in the r/bing subreddit, questioning the disappearance of the art style options in the Copilot image generator. According to their post, the ability to switch between styles like:

• Pixel art
• Watercolor
• Art Deco

...and more has vanished. The generator now seems to default to a Pixar-like style, limiting creative control.

User Frustration

The removal of art style options has understandably caused frustration among users. Many relied on these settings to create images tailored to their specific visions. The inability to choose a preferred style limits the tool's versatility, and it might push users to seek alternatives that offer greater customization.

Why Remove the Styles?

The exact reason for this change is unclear. It's possible that Microsoft is aiming for a more streamlined, user-friendly interface by simplifying the options. Another possible factor is the computational resources required to offer these styles. Offering different artistic styles requires a lot of processing power, and Microsoft may have removed these options to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Alternatives to Consider

If you're disappointed by the changes in Copilot, multiple AI image generators give you more freedom over styles:

• Midjourney: Known for its artistic and dreamlike outputs, Midjourney allows extensive style customization through text prompts.
• DALL-E 2: From the creators of ChatGPT, DALL-E 2 is another choice that offers control over various image aspects, including style.
• Stable Diffusion: This open-source model is hugely popular for its flexibility and the large number of community-created tools and models that allow you to create images in very specific styles.
• Adobe Firefly: Integrated into Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Firefly enables users to generate images and apply various styles directly within their familiar design workflow.

The Future of Copilot's Image Generation

While the removal of art style options may be a setback for some, Copilot's image generator still offers a convenient way to create AI art and is frequently updated with new features and improvements. According to Microsoft's official blog, they are constantly working to improve the service and introduce new functionalities based on user feedback. It is possible that customizable style options will return to a future version of Copilot.

While we wait, exploring alternative AI image generators like Midjourney and DALL-E 2 can help you unlock even greater creative possibilities.