Remove an image background
The background remover isolates the subject of an image and either makes the background transparent or fills it with a colour you choose. Like the enhancer, it is a batch tool.
Open it at Media → AI remove image background.
Transparent or a solid colour
The form has a background colour field with a colour picker and the instruction: pick a background colour, or leave it empty for a transparent background.
Which to choose:
Leave it empty when the image will sit on varying backgrounds — a product on different page sections, a logo, an element in a layout. You get transparency and full flexibility.
Pick a colour when the image will always appear on a known background, or when you need a consistent catalogue look. A solid fill avoids every transparency pitfall: no halo on a dark background, no surprise when a theme changes, and it works in contexts that flatten transparency, such as email.
For a product catalogue, a solid white or off-white fill is usually the more practical choice. For a design element, transparency is.
The rest of the form
Update existing image references? Users with site media-reference permission can choose Yes, update references and keep the original to update supported references in resumable batches. Choose No, create a new media library entry to review the new image before placing it. Both images are retained. See update references or create a copy.
For background removal specifically, creating a new entry is often the better default even once you know the tool: you frequently want both versions — the original photograph with its context, and the cut-out for use elsewhere.
Select your images. A searchable list of the media library with a selection counter. Each selected image is a separate request and a separate charge.
What makes removal succeed or fail
The subject matters more than the settings.
Works reliably: a single clear subject, good contrast with the background, hard edges, even lighting. Product shots on a plain surface are the ideal case.
Works with checking: several subjects, moderate contrast, mild motion blur, soft shadows that may or may not be treated as part of the subject.
Frequently disappointing: hair and fur, transparent or reflective objects such as glass and chrome, fine mesh or lace, subjects that are close in colour to their background, and very low-resolution sources.
If your material is in the third group, test one image before committing to a batch. See Choose the source image.
Running it
Use the estimate-first button. The confirmation covers the whole selection.
The tool processes each image and produces a summary. Read it: a batch can complete with some images failed, and the summary is where that is reported.
Formats and transparency
A transparent result is delivered in a format that supports transparency. A colour-filled result does not need transparency and may be delivered in a different format.
Two practical consequences:
- File size. A transparent image of a photographic subject is usually larger than the JPEG it came from. On a page with many such images, that is a real performance cost — consider a solid fill instead.
- Downstream handling. Anything that flattens or converts images later, such as a compression plugin or an email template, needs to preserve transparency or you will see a black or white box where the transparency was.
See Image format, size and aspect ratio.
Always check the result
Background removal fails in ways that are invisible at thumbnail size and obvious at full size. Check every result before use — see Check a background removal.
The specific things to look at are edges, hair, thin details, and how the cut-out looks against both a light and a dark background.
Cost
One background-removal charge per selected image. For a catalogue of hundreds of products, this is one of the larger runs POM AI can perform: estimate it, and consider processing in batches so you can review before committing to the rest. See What image operations cost.
A workable catalogue process
- Pick five products that represent the range, including your hardest case.
- Run them with No, create a new media library entry and a solid background colour.
- Inspect all five at full size.
- If the quality holds, batch the rest in groups you are willing to review.
- Only consider replacing originals once you have seen the output quality on your own material.