TikTok Launches AI Tool to Animate Photos

TikTok has officially launched TikTok AI Alive, an innovative image-to-video feature that brings static photos to life using generative AI.

Announced on Tuesday, the feature is now available through TikTok’s Story Camera, allowing users to transform still images into dynamic short-form videos with creative, atmospheric effects.

Designed to enhance visual storytelling, TikTok AI Alive applies motion and sound to elements within a photo. For example, a serene beach snapshot can be animated with drifting clouds, shifting sky tones, and ambient wave sounds. Group selfies can also be brought to life, highlighting facial expressions and subtle movements.

This marks TikTok’s first major leap into image-to-video AI, building on its earlier text-to-image generator. While platforms like Instagram and Snapchat have integrated similar AI tools, TikTok is now taking the lead by offering native video generation from images within its app interface. Snapchat has indicated plans to introduce a similar feature, but TikTok has launched first.

Each AI Alive video will carry an AI-generated label, alongside C2PA metadata: This ensures transparent identification of AI-created media, even when shared outside the platform.

TikTok emphasised user safety and responsible AI use in its announcement. The company applies a multi-layered moderation system, reviewing the original photo, AI generation prompt, and the resulting video before it is shown to the user. Final safety checks occur once the content is published.

To create an AI Alive video, users can open the Story Camera via the blue plus button on the Inbox or Profile page, select an image, and tap the AI Alive icon in the edit toolbar.