EA is going to use AI in order to fix The Sims 4’s annoying user content gallery

The Sims 4 Gallery, the hub in-game where players can download and share their creations, has a terrible reputation. It's hard to browse and search results are rarely what you want. The hashtag system is also finicky. Even EA is aware of this, as it has a plan for AI-powered image search to fix the gallery.

Laura Miele, EA entertainment and technology president, elaborated on the features being envisioned for a future "Sims Hub" during a presentation to investors this week.

Miele explains "AI application which uses a photo-based searching feature:" Think about it as Google's reverse image searches function. Miele explains that instead of searching for "a red house with white trim," a player can upload a picture. "This feature works today and will be released soon," she says. She also adds that the video shown (above), was actually based on search results from the tool.

Miele explains that there is a lot of content available in the Sims 4 gallery, and an image search can help overcome language barriers or misspellings. Miele revealed that EA plans to have multiple Sims games share a gallery. Making the gallery easier to use is important, especially as more content will be added. This is a really good use of AI image tools.

What makes me a little more hesitant is the way Miele describes creating a Sim using the same tool. "This same AI image search can unlock the creation capability. Imagine uploading a picture of a model in a certain outfit, including clothes, shoes, jewelry and more. "Using images to create new content will increase the power of our players."

It's unclear if Miele is describing an application that could take an image, identify similar clothes in The Sims 4 content, and create a Sim wearing the outfit, or if it's envisioned to generate new content without an artist's input.

If it's the second, it sounds a lot the same as what Krafton has been playing with in its demos for the upcoming Sims rival Inzoi. It has an AI tool which can create in-game patterns based on a text prompt, or convert a photo of an object from the real world into an in-game version.

This was only a small part of the surprising amount of Sims-series information that EA shared with us this week. EA shared that, in addition to explaining Project Rene's position within "The Sims Universe", it will also be conducting closed beta testing of Project Rene Multiplayer.