What the AI tab does

The AI tab is part of the Visual Designer. It works from your design's background photo and reimagines the space, so you can go from a bare yard to a picture you can point at in seconds.

AI is a speed multiplier, not magic. It handles the tedious first pass. You stay in control of the final design.

What AI is great for

Working on your background photo, AI can:

• Prepare the site. Clear out things you don't want in the picture, like an old shed, a parked car, or a tired fence, so you're designing on a clean slate.
• Block in beds and borders. Add empty planter beds and shape the layout of the space.
• Add hardscapes. Bring in patios, walkways, retaining walls, and other structural elements.
• Fill it with plants. Populate a bare yard with a photo-realistic planting design.
• Envision what's possible. Try a whole new look, test a bold idea, and experiment without committing to anything.

And there's more you can do as you get comfortable with it. The point is to get to a strong starting picture fast.

AI first, then drag-and-drop

The two ways of designing work together:

• AI gives you a fast first pass on your actual photo. Great when you want a strong starting point in seconds.
• Drag-and-drop gives you complete control. Place a specific plant, move an item exactly where you want it, swap something AI chose, or add a detail it missed. Best when you want to take the wheel.

Most designs are a mix: let AI rough it in, then make it yours by hand.

The workflow we recommend: use AI to prepare the site and generate a few concepts, then clear the site and place plants and other items by hand. You get AI's speed on the tedious parts and complete control over the final design. Full walkthrough in What AI can and can't do.

Two ways to run the AI

• Pick a design style and template (the quickest way, every plan). Choose a style like modern, cottage, desert, or tropical, then pick a ready-made AI Template inside it. Click, and AI applies that look. No writing needed. Each template comes with a plant palette you can tune before generating — deselect the plants you don't want.
• Describe your own idea (Plus and higher). Type a prompt in your own words ("clear the old shed and add a stone patio with a fire pit") and AI interprets it. You can also start from a template and refine it with a prompt. Custom prompts are the only way to remove a specific item or add hardscape on request.

What to expect

• Results vary. The same style, template, or prompt can produce different looks each time, so generate again for more options.
• AI reimagines the whole scene. It creates a new image of the space rather than nudging one item, so fine details can shift.
• The result is a flat image. The plants in it aren't separate objects, so they can't be selected, dragged, or resized. Anything you want to position precisely should come from the Plants or Objects library. See What AI can and can't do.
• It's a picture, not a plant list. An AI result is an image, so there are no plant records behind it to list or export. On Plus you can ask AI to label the plants on the image, which is a quick way to see what's where. For a list you can filter, edit, and hand to a client, place the plants by hand and export a PDF.
• The photo matters. A clear, well-lit photo taken from the angle you want to design from gives AI the most to work with.
• Your original is never lost. A new result is applied to your design automatically, but the version it started from sits right beside it. Click Restore to go back, any time.

Related

• Ready to try it? See Generate a design.
• Taking something out? See Remove a plant or item from a design.
• Know the trade-offs: What AI can and can't do.
• Swapping the background photo with AI is also covered under Managing Background Images.