Meta Unveils Muse Image, Its First In-House AI Video Generator

META has launched its first in-house image model, called Muse Image. The new tool is part of Meta’s Superintelligence Labs and can generate images from scratch or edit existing photos. It also allows users to blend multiple references into one shot and pull real-time context from the web.

The model is available now within the Meta AI chatbot and powers over 30 new AI effects in Instagram Stories, enabling image generation inside WhatsApp chats in select countries. Facebook and Messenger will follow suit soon.

Muse Image pairs with another tool called Muse Spark to plan a layout before drawing an image. It can also call search and coding tools to render legible text, working QR codes, and detailed infographics. Basic creation is free, but extra capacity comes with Meta’s subscription plans. Advertisers will gain access through Advantage+ in the coming weeks.

The model works differently from traditional one-shot generators. Instead of producing an image immediately, it reasons through a request first, planning the composition and reviewing its own output before showing it to users. This allows for more control over the final result.

One of the key features of Muse Image is its ability to personalize creations based on user input. A presets panel offers one-tap ideas, from restoring old family photos to reimagining users as claymation characters or 16-bit game heroes. Users can also @-mention Instagram accounts to bring public photos into a creation.

The tool includes a markup feature that lets users sketch or circle edits directly on the image. Meta AI keeps the full conversation in memory, allowing users to refine their creations without starting over. For example, snapping a photo of a room and redesigning it using real products from the web or Facebook Marketplace is now possible with Muse Image.

Muse Image arrives as Meta tries to close the gap left by Google and OpenAI’s early moves into consumer image tools. According to internal benchmarks, Muse Image trails behind OpenAI’s latest model but outperforms Google’s Nano Banana 2 on editing tasks. This marks a significant step for Meta in developing its own AI capabilities.

The stakes are commercial as much as technical, since digital advertising remains Meta’s largest revenue source and faster, cheaper creative production feeds that engine directly. The company framed the launch within a broader push toward personal superintelligence and detailed the agentic design and tool use in its technical breakdown of the two new models.

Meta also previewed Muse Video, a clip generator built on the same foundation as Muse Image. This tool includes native audio support and is set for public release soon. The rollout follows Meta’s earlier move into AI video feeds with its Vibes stream of AI-generated clips, and it lands as generative tools expand from flat pictures toward editable 3D assets.

For everyday users, the appeal lies in the same one that drives prompt-based image generators aimed at non-designers – now folded into apps billions of people already use daily. Startups such as venture-backed challengers chasing brand-ready output show how fierce this market has become.