How to do the AI expansion filter on TikTok
Help! An AI trend on TikTok won't get off my For You Page.
There's a new TikTok filter that uses AI to extend your photos and add fake backgrounds. It's reminiscent of the Photoshop AI tool that fills in parts of images or expands them entirely, which some AI-focused accounts on Twitter used to make centuries-old paintings look worse. Now, you can use that same technology to make your photos on TikTok look worse.
The filter is going viral on TikTok, but you have to download a second app, CapCut, to create the video. So your first step to participating in this very weird trend is to download TikTok and CapCut. Here's how you do the rest.
You May Also Like
- 5 mins
- TikTok app
- CapCut app
- a couple of photos
Step 1: Find your template
Because this AI technology is so widely shared, there are a bunch of copycat templates on CapCut and TikTok. But also because this AI technology is so widely shared, all of the copycats are virtually the same. I used this CapCut template, but if you want to use the exact template you've seen before simply navigate to their TikTok video of them doing the trend and above their username it will say "‘CapCut | Try AI Expand Template.’" Click on that button and then click "Use template in CapCut."
Step 2: Use template in CapCut
Once you're in CapCut on the template of your choice, click the blue "Use template" button. A permission request will pop up and, if you're cool with it, click "Allow" and give CapCut access to all of your photos.
Step 3: Upload your pics
You'll need to choose six photos to upload that you'd like to see expanded.
Step 4: Preview your video
After you're happy with your photo selection, click "Preview" at the bottom right of the video. This will also automatically download a copy of your video onto your phone.
Step 5: Move from CapCut to TikTok
Now, click "Add sound in TikTok" in the top right. It will automatically export the video to TikTok and add the trending audio. Edit the video how you normally would, and post it to the app. Viola! You've made a very weird trending picture video.
Most everyone who posted this trend commented on how "creepy" it is, and I can't help but agree. After all, one of the most used trending versions of the templates reads "este efecto de ia no te dejara dormir," or "this AI filter won't let you sleep."
Topics TikTok
Christianna Silva is a senior culture reporter covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on the intersection of social media, politics, and the economic systems that govern us. Since joining Mashable in 2021, they have reported extensively on meme creators, content moderation, and the nature of online creation under capitalism.
Before joining Mashable, they worked as an editor at NPR and MTV News, a reporter at Teen Vogue and VICE News, and as a stablehand at a mini-horse farm. You can follow her on Bluesky @christiannaj.bsky.social and Instagram @christianna_j.
