For years, the choice of emoji has been constrained by what’s available on your smartphone’s keyboard. Every year brings a new emoji—I love “face and bags under the eyes,” though that one is still coming out. But there are times when the previously established options are not realistic. Fortunately, Apple has a solution, and it’s called Genmoji.

Powered by Apple Intelligenceyou can create emojis from your keyboard using text or a picture of a person from your Photos library. Below, I break down all the steps to create your own Genmoji.

Check out ours iOS 18 update for a list of all the top features of the latest Apple devices. Be sure to check out our other Apple guides, including the The best iPhones, Best iPhone 16 Accessoriesand The best iPads.

Activate Apple Intelligence

Before we begin, you’ll want to check if you have access to Apple Intelligence. It was introduced with iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1, but Genmoji was implemented directly in iOS 18.2. To check your program version, go to Settings > General > About. It’s best to go if it says iOS 18.2 or newer. If you want to change, backup your device first.

If you don’t have access to Genmoji, make sure Apple Intelligence is turned on (it should be by default). Go to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and lighting Apple Intelligence. It is important to note that Apple Intelligence is exclusive available on select iPhones– and iPhone 16 version, iPhone 15 Proand iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Enter Your Urgency

1. When you open the Messages window, tap the emoji icon (smiley face) or the keyboard icon (global) to access the emoji keyboard.
2. In the upper right corner of the keyboard, click the button The Genmoji icon (pink and blue smiley face with plus sign).
3. Type a few words in the box to describe what you are looking for and click It’s done.
4. Scroll through the crowded Genmojis and click Add it on which one you want to use. It will appear in your emojis drawer and stickers.
5. You can also create Genmoji based on photos of people in your Photos app. Start by typing something like “Julian is celebrating his birthday,” click “Choose a Person” from the list of artists that appear, I choose a real person. From there, you’ll see a variety of Genmojis pop up for quick customization. Click Add it when you find the one you want to use.

Create Your Best Genmoji

You can even edit your original moves to create new versions of your original Genmoji.

1. On the Genmoji screen, click on the text box.
2. Write a refined version of your information or a new version. For example, instead of “dog wearing a birthday hat,” you can change it to “dog with a birthday cake.” They then simply repopulate new versions.