Microsoft upgrades Windows 11's Photos, Paint, and Snipping Tool with AI-powered features

Microsoft is bringing a bunch of new AI-powered features to stock Windows 11 apps, including Paint, Photos, and Snipping Tool. These updates are exclusive to Copilot+ PCs, starting with Snapdragon-powered devices like the Surface Pro (12-inch) and Surface Laptop (13-inch).

New AI features are heading to Windows 11’s Photos and Paint apps

The Windows 11 Photos app has a new Relight feature that uses AI to add up to three dynamic light sources to your pictures. You can adjust light color, brightness, intensity, and focus point, or apply one-click presets for fast edits.

Microsoft says this will simplify complex lighting adjustments with AI doing most of the heavy lifting. Relight will debut on Snapdragon-based Copilot+ PCs, with Intel and AMD support coming later. Paint is also getting smarter with two AI features—Sticker Generator and Object Select—in Windows 11.

The Paint Sticker Generator feature uses AI to create custom sticker packs from text prompts. You can use them in Paint, documents, or even chats. Object Select also uses AI for isolating parts of an image in one click. So no more shaky outlines or rough edges. It recognizes image structure and context to deliver clean, fast selections without extra effort. Both Paint features arrive later this month for Windows Insiders.

Microsoft is also improving Paint Cocreator, generative fill, and image generation in Photos. A new diffusion-based model now powers those features, promising faster results and better image quality.

Snipping Tool is also getting much-needed AI features

Snipping Tool isn’t left out either. It uses AI to help you snap perfect screenshots by auto-selecting the most relevant on-screen content in Windows 11. It identifies key shapes like tables, charts, or images and captures just that, saving time on cropping.

Snipping Tool also adds a text extractor, letting you pull text from images and screenshots instantly. There’s also a new color picker tool to grab color values from anywhere on your screen, just like PowerToys.

Last but not least, Microsoft is upgrading Narrator on Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs with rich image descriptions. The Windows 11 feature uses AI to now identify people, objects, colors, UI elements, text, and even charts for users with low vision.