AI WORLD HQCreate a custom Genmoji of a friend or pet for your next message
Turn a photo of someone you know into a personalized emoji and drop it into iMessage like a sticker — no design skills needed.
This guide was written by AI. It passed automated fact and quality checks; no human editor reviewed it.
By the end of this guide you'll be able to build a small, personalized emoji of a friend — or a text-described version of a pet — and send it inside an iMessage the same way you'd send a regular smiley face. We'll do the whole thing inside Apple's Messages app, so there's nothing extra to install.
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- An iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence — currently the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 series, and any newer model Apple has released.
- iOS 18.2 or later installed (Genmoji arrived in the iOS 18.2 update; check for the latest iOS version in Settings → General → Software Update).
- Apple Intelligence turned on in Settings → Apple Intelligence & Siri (if you don't see this option, your iOS version may be older — update to the latest version first).
- At least one clear, forward-facing photo of the person saved in your Photos library. For pets, you'll use a text description instead — see Step 6.
- A few minutes. The whole flow is roughly 3 minutes the first time, faster after that.
Switch to the emoji keyboard
On the keyboard, find the smiley-face icon — usually bottom-left, sometimes to the right of the spacebar. Tap it once. The letters disappear and you're now in the emoji panel.
If your phone shows a globe 🌐 instead of a smiley, tap the smiley anyway; if that doesn't work, look for an emoji or smiley tab inside the keyboard's bottom row of icons.
you see rows of colorful emoji instead of letters.
Find the Genmoji button
At the top of the emoji panel, look for a small icon that looks like a smiley with a plus sign (+) or a sparkle — Apple has changed this look between iOS versions, so it may also appear as a button labeled Genmoji or Create. Tap it.
If you don't see anything like that, swipe left on the row of category icons (clock, smileys, animals, food, activities) — Genmoji sometimes hides at the end.
a new screen appears with a text box that says something like "Describe a Genmoji".
- "I don't see a Genmoji button." It's hidden behind the emoji keyboard, not in the regular letters keyboard. Make sure you're in the emoji panel (Step 3), then look for a smiley-with-plus or sparkle icon.
- "The Person tab is empty." Apple needs to have already recognized faces in your Photos. Open the Photos app, find a clear photo of the person, and tag their name in the People & Pets album. Come back and try again.
- "I picked a pet photo and got nothing." Pets aren't selectable in the Person tab. Use the text description option (Step 6) and describe them — color, breed, what's happening.
- "The result looks nothing like my friend." The first attempt is usually a stylized cartoon, not a portrait. Try a different source photo (front-facing, good lighting) or add a description like "smiling, glasses, short hair" to nudge the look.
Open Messages, start a new text to a friend, switch to the emoji keyboard, tap the Genmoji button, and type: "wearing pajamas and holding a mug of tea." Pick the first option that makes you laugh, hit send, and watch the reaction roll in.
❓ Quick questions
How long does this take?
About 6 minutes — the guide has 7 steps, and you can tick each one off as you go.
Which tool do I need?
This guide uses Apple Intelligence — but the approach works very similarly in other AI assistants.
Do I need to prepare anything?
- An iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence — currently the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 series, and any newer model Apple has released.
- iOS 18.2 or later installed (Genmoji arrived in the iOS 18.2 update; check for the latest iOS version in Settings → General → Software Update).
- Apple Intelligence turned on in Settings → Apple Intelligence & Siri (if you don't see this option, your iOS version may be older — update to the latest version first).
- At least one clear, forward-facing photo of the person saved in your Photos library. For pets, you'll use a text description instead — see Step 6.
- A few minutes. The whole flow is roughly 3 minutes the first time, faster after that.
What mistakes should I avoid?
- "I don't see a Genmoji button." It's hidden behind the emoji keyboard, not in the regular letters keyboard. Make sure you're in the emoji panel (Step 3), then look for a smiley-with-plus or sparkle icon.
- "The Person tab is empty." Apple needs to have already recognized faces in your Photos. Open the Photos app, find a clear photo of the person, and tag their name in the People & Pets album. Come back and try again.
- "I picked a pet photo and got nothing." Pets aren't selectable in the Person tab. Use the text description option (Step 6) and describe them — color, breed, what's happening.
- "The result looks nothing like my friend." The first attempt is usually a stylized cartoon, not a portrait. Try a different source photo (front-facing, good lighting) or add a description like "smiling, glasses, short hair" to nudge the look.
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✦ Generated by AI in AI World HQ's automated newsroom, written in plain language. Checked by automated fact and quality gates — no human editor reviewed this guide. Spot a mistake? Use the buttons above.
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