For decades, the choice of an emoji has been limited to what is available on your smartphone keyboard. Every year brings new emoji; I like the “face with bags under the eyes”, although it is still being implemented. But there are times when the pre-installed options simply aren’t specific enough. Fortunately, Apple has a solution and it’s called Genmoji.
With the help of Apple Intelligence, you can generate custom emojis right from your keyboard using text messages or even a person’s photo from your Photos library. Below I break down all the steps to create your own Genmoji.
Check out our iOS 18 overview for a complete list of all the major features of Apple’s latest operating system. Be sure to also check out our other Apple guides, including the best iPhones, best iPhone 16 accessories, and best iPads.
Enable Apple Intelligence
Before you begin, you’ll want to check if you have access to Apple Intelligence. It was released with iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1, but Genmoji was specifically released on iOS 18.2. To check your software version, go to Settings > Normal > About. You’re ready if you’re running iOS 18.2 or later. If you need to update, please backup your device first.
If you don’t already have access to Genmoji, make sure Apple Intelligence is enabled (it should be by default). Gonna Settings > Apple Intelligence and Siri and activate Apple Intelligence. It’s worth noting that Apple Intelligence is only available on select iPhones: the iPhone 16 range, iPhone 15 Proand iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Screenshots courtesy of Brenda Stolyar via Apple Intelligence
Enter your message
- When you have a Messages window open, tap the emoji icon (the smiley face) or the keyboard icon (the globe) to access the emoji keyboard.
- In the upper right corner of the keyboard, tap the Genmoji icon (the pink and blue smiley face with a plus sign).
- Type a few words or a phrase in the text box that describes what you’re looking for and tap Made.
- Swipe through the populated Genmojis and tap Add in which you want to use. It will then appear in your emoji and stickers drawer.
- You can also create Genmojis based on images of people in your Photos app. Start by typing a message like “Julian celebrating his birthday,” tap “Choose a person” from the list of contacts that appear and select the specific person. From there, you’ll see various Genmojis populate based on the message. Tap Add when you have found the one you want to use.
Afina is Genmoji
You can also modify your unique message to create new versions of your unique Genmoji.
- In the Genmoji window, tap the text box.
- Write a refined version of your message or a completely new version. For example, instead of “dog with birthday hat,” you can change it to “dog with birthday cake.” It will then automatically populate new versions again.
