For decades, emoji options have been limited by what's available on smartphone keyboards. There are new emojis coming out every year – I love the “baggy face”, although that emoji is still being rolled out. But sometimes pre-installed options aren't specific enough. Thankfully, Apple has a solution, and it's called Genmoji.

With Apple Intelligence, you can generate custom emojis directly from your keyboard using text prompts or even photos of people from your photo library. Below, I'll walk you through all the steps to create your own Genmoji.

Check out our iOS 18 roundup for a complete list of all the key features of Apple's latest operating system. Be sure to check out our other Apple guides, including the best iPhones, best iPhone 16 accessories, and best iPads.

Enable Apple Smart

Before we begin, you need to check if you have access to Apple Intelligence. It was released with iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1, but Genmoji was released exclusively in iOS 18.2. To check your software version, please visit Settings > General > About. If it says iOS 18.2 or later, you're ready to get started. If an update is required, back up your device first.

If you still can't access Genmoji, make sure Apple Intelligence is enabled (by default). Go to Settings > Apple Intelligence and Siri and open Apple information. It’s worth noting that Apple Intelligence is only available on some iPhones – the iPhone 16 series, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Enter your tip

1. When you open the Messages window, tap the emoji icon (smiley face) or keyboard icon (globe) to access the emoji keyboard.
2. In the upper right corner of the keyboard, click Genmon Temple Icon (pink and blue smiley face with plus sign).
3. Enter a few words or phrases in the text box that describes what you're looking for, then click complete.
4. Slide the populated Genmoji and tap Add to on the one you want to use. It will then appear in your emoji and sticker drawer.
5. You can also create Genmoji based on images of people in the Photos app. Start by typing in a prompt like "Julian celebrates his birthday" and then click "Choose someone" From the displayed contact list, then select a specific person. From there, you'll see various Genmoji populate according to the prompts. tap Add to When you find the one you want to use.

Fine-tune your source words

You can also adjust the original prompts to create new versions of the original Genmoji.

1. In the Genmoji window, click the text box.
2. Enter an improved or completely new version of the prompt. For example, you could change it to "dog with birthday cake" instead of "dog with birthday hat." It will then automatically repopulate with the new version.