TikTok has unveiled a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that enables users to transform still images into animated videos. The social media platform announced the launch of the AI Alive tool on Tuesday, utilizing generative AI technology to produce videos from photos. At present, this functionality is limited to TikTok Stories and is not available for direct use in the main feed. The company has also outlined measures designed to prevent potential misuse of the feature by users.
TikTok’s AI Alive Feature Can Transform Your Photos Into Videos
In a post on its US newsroom page, TikTok detailed the introduction of this pioneering AI feature, marking it as the first of its kind among video-centric social media platforms. Other platforms such as Instagram, X, and Snapchat have yet to offer similar AI-driven video generation capabilities. While YouTube Shorts has initiated testing of a text-to-video feature, it has not been broadly implemented.
Users can access the TikTok AI Alive feature by clicking the blue plus icon (+) located at the top of the Inbox or Profile pages. From there, they need to select a single image from their Story Album. The AI Alive icon can be found in the right-side toolbar on the photo editing page, positioned second from the top.
Upon tapping the AI Alive icon, a new window opens, allowing users to input a text prompt to dictate how they wish the image to be animated. For those uncertain about what to write, a variety of suggested text prompts are available on the page. After finalizing their prompt, users can press the generate button to create a short video, which can then be posted for others to view in the For You and Following feeds, as well as on the user’s profile.
To address content safety, TikTok has incorporated moderation technology that reviews the uploaded photo, text prompt, and the resulting AI Alive video before it is visible to the creator. A final review occurs when the user decides to post the video as part of their Story. Additionally, other users have the option to report any content they believe may violate platform guidelines.
Moreover, TikTok plans to introduce a visible label indicating that a video is AI-generated, enhancing transparency. This will include Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) metadata, a recognized standard among key players in the AI field, attached to each AI-generated video.
