TikTok introduces “AI Alive,” a new feature that transforms static photos into videos within the platform’s Stories function. The tool, designed to enhance storytelling capabilities, represents TikTok’s first AI-driven image-to-video creation feature.

“AI Alive” enables creators to animate photos with movement, atmospheric effects, and ambient sounds without requiring editing experience. The feature operates exclusively within TikTok’s Story Camera, accessible by tapping the blue “+” icon on the Inbox or Profile page.

Users can select a photo from their Story Album, with the “AI Alive” icon appearing in the right toolbar on the photo edit page. The resulting stories display in For You and Following feeds, as well as on profile pages.

Image source: TikTok

TikTok implements multiple trust and safety checks for the new technology. The system reviews uploaded photos, AI generation prompts, and resulting videos before they appear to creators. A final safety check occurs when creators post to their Stories.

All “AI Alive” stories receive an AI-generated label for transparency and contain embedded C2PA metadata, which identifies AI-generated content even when downloaded and shared on other platforms.

Expanding AI Offerings

According to TechCrunch, the launch follows TikTok’s earlier introduction of an in-app text-to-image AI generator. While Instagram and Snapchat offer similar text-to-image capabilities, TikTok advances the space by enabling video creation from static images. Snapchat has announced plans to develop comparable functionality.