PowerPoint NEW Image Editing Tools Explained — Remove Background, Upscale & Edit Images Instantly!

Totally despise the new AI feature. If it ain't broke don't fix it! 

How do we disable the background removal "tool".  Every, yes EVERY, time I use the feature, it leaves background and removes with I want to keep.  By being able to do it manually, I could select the things I want to keep and remove.  Also, it puts "fuzzy" edges on things that need detail.  VERY disappointed. 

I sent a reply yesterday, which hasn't been posted as I write this. But, essentially, I agreed with everyone else; the entire Picture Edit AI reconfiguring is problematic. But having experimented a bit more, I'd like to adjust my opinion somewhat...

The new Remove Background is a mistake and at the very least, users should get the option of using the previous version. Auto Enhance, which is evidently primarily to adjust lighting, is also not good.

But I have found Upscale, for sharpening, to actually be quite good. There's a bit of Uncanny Valley but overall I think it's a valuable option, and genuinely terrific when used on pictures which include text.

Is there any way to revert back to the old tool? The update doesn't remove the background; it just replaces it with a blobby smear. What is this? I feel like it must be an April fool joke?

I strongly agree with what everyone says. And it's really wrong to have instituted this without any warning.

While I can see the new AI tool might have some reasonable uses, the main problems are what's already been said: the new tool doesn't consistently accomplish what it's supposed to (and thinks it has); it's difficult to work with; is quite slow; and wasn't unnecessary. Please allow people access to the previous Edit Picture function, especially Remove Background. And please let us know when that happens.

Are you kidding me? I'm in the middle of a project and this update has left me unable to complete the work within PowerPoint. The AI is incapable of removing the background (though it proclaims success) and I have no access to the manual background removal tool that was working just fine, thankyouverymuch! This is infuriating.

I emphatically agree with you. I can see situations where this new background removal feature is an improvement. Unfortunately, for my nuanced use case, this new AI feature is not even close to suitable.

Microsoft, please restore the manual option for background removal. I have no problem also offering the AI approach, maybe even by default. But for the nuanced layering and rearranging of images that I do this AI solution is far from sufficient.

This new "feature" has ruined what was not broken. The AI does not reliably remove the background. It alters, but does not remove. I have an image that I wanted to have a textbox go behind a portion of it. Normally I would make a dupicate of the original image and then remove background, and presto, it's done and working. Not so with this new tool. It won't remove the backing. It changes it, it smooths it, but it won't remove it. When I click "remove background," I want to actually remove, not change the background. Please revert to the former "remove background" tool. It was far far better than this. Now, I need to take the image out to a different program to actually remove the background and then bring it back in. What used to be a 10-20 second task is now going to be several minutes. Don't try to fix the AI - just restore an actual tool that will remove the background. Sure, have your AI editing as another tool - but restore the remove background to it's former glory.

Is there any way to revert this update? The new remove background function is unusable. I can no longer add sections back once the program has decided to remove the entire background so am forced to Frankenstein images together to account for this. Awful new feature. Typical AI rubbish, poorly implemented replacement for something that worked perfectly well for over a decade.