Shutterstock Introduces Their Own AI Image Generator Available to All in Partnership with OpenAI
The titan of stock photo licensing, Shutterstock, finally released Shutterstock Generate, their own AI image generator that creates images from text prompts.
Shutterstock Generate is now available for all users worldwide on the agency’s platform, and it includes a free trial with 10 image downloads.
Built based on collaboration with leading AI experts OpenAI, this text-to-image generation tool is easy to use, promises great results, and is ethically responsible.
Learn all about it below!
Shutterstock Generate: Responsible AI-Generated Images Powered by Dall-E and Shutterstock Library
Shutterstock’s native AI generative tool was announced back in October 2022 and is the result of a strategic partnership between the agency and OpenAI, the lab behind popular text-to-image art generator Dall-E.
Their collaboration focused on bringing the Dall-E generative model onto Shutterstock’s platform but training the AI solely with Shutterstock content.
As a result, Shutterstock Generate can produce diverse, accurate, and legally backed-up images –the latter being very relevant in today’s context, where big global companies are suing AI generative models for copyright infringement for using content from their catalogs in AI training datasets.
A User-Friendly and Legally Safe AI Image Generator with Diverse and Accurate Results
That is, in essence, what Shutterstock Generate is. The new tool is very easy to use, even more so than others in the space.
To generate an image using AI at Shutterstock, all you have to do is go to Shutterstock Generate, type a keyword or idea in the search bar, and hit the “Generate” button. The app will then create four images based on your instruction, and you can choose which one(s) you want to license and download. Each AI-generated image equals one download from Shutterstock's subscription plans or image packs. In the case of Flex subscriptions, one AI image equals one credit. Before downloading, you have options to apply style filters such as “Photo,” “Art,” “Digital,” or “3D” to adjust the look of your pictures. Generate is available worldwide and works in all languages supported on Shutterstock's platform.
Bonus: The Shutterstock Free Trial with 10 free image downloads includes AI-generated images so that you can download up to 10 synthetic pictures from Shutterstock Generate completely free of charge!
What is interesting is that while the better the text prompt is, the better the result you’ll get (and Shutterstock provides a quick guide to writing good prompts), they emphasized users not needing to learn how to write complex text descriptions to summon an image creation; Shutterstock Generate can synthesize images even from one word alone. This is certainly a plus if you don’t feel like learning a whole new writing skill to use an AI tool.
Equally valuable, as the tool is trained with content from Shutterstock’s library, it is meant to deliver varied, inclusive, diverse, and realistic imagery that reflects the content the agency has curated into its 425 million photo depository.
Finally, Shutterstock aims to operate like a one-stop shop for creatives. Generate is part of that vision: you can edit your AI-generated picture in Shutterstock Create until you get the perfect result, as well as plug it into the many other applications of Shutterstock Creative Flow –included for free with your Shutterstock subscription– to go from idea to design to execution, all in one place.
A Responsible AI Tool that Pays Artists for their Work
Probably the most innovative point in Shutterstock’s approach to AI tech is their Contributor Fund, a program that pays all artists in Shutterstock’s platform whose work is included in datasets to train Generate a monetary compensation –in the form of a percentage royalty rate– every time their work is used in the creation of synthetic images.
An ethical way to train AI models and respect artists’ copyright is at the core of most developers’ plans. Still, so far, no other company has established a structure to pay photographers directly.
When you create an image using Shutterstock Generate, you know any artist whose work helped in your creation is being compensated.
Shutterstock's commitment to responsible AI tech development is clear. From its partnerships with Meta and LG Research to this Dall-E-based AI image generator, they're working hard and at full speed to stay on top of the game.
We had been eagerly waiting to try Shutterstock Generate and are now excited to see what users make of this tool. What are your thoughts? We’d love to know!
