Emotes in Inzoi are triggered from Photo Mode: open it, click your Zoi, open the Pose menu and pick an emote, and your Zoi performs it on the spot. The same menu holds Make AI Emote, which builds a brand-new pose or animation from a photo or short video you upload, and those custom emotes can also be played in normal gameplay from your Zoi’s own interaction menu. This guide covers where Photo Mode lives in the current build, the built-in emote library, the official steps for making an AI emote, and what the feature cannot do.
Using Built-In Emotes in Photo Mode
The official Make AI Emote help article describes the base flow:
- Open Photo Mode. Choose Photo Mode from the menu bar in-game (it is also available right after finishing customization). Since the v0.4.0 update there is a Photo Mode app on the smartphone as well, which you open with P.
- Click your Zoi and open the Pose menu.
- Pick an emote or pose. Your Zoi plays it immediately. Poses hold still for a screenshot; emotes are short animations.
The library keeps growing with patches. The v0.4.0 notes added five new motions each for male, female and child Zois to Create a Zoi and Photo Mode (Halloween Dance, Arms Spread and a sitting chin-rest pose among them), and v0.5.0 added 16 more studio emotes and poses. The same poses are available in the Studio, the character editing space you reach through the Customize button, which is where you would stage a Zoi against a backdrop before uploading to Canvas.
As of v0.10.0, pictures you take in Photo Mode are automatically bound into a photo album that lands in your inventory; the notes say the option can be toggled off inside Photo Mode if you would rather not collect them.
Making an AI Emote
Make AI Emote is Inzoi’s video-to-motion feature. The developer’s May 2025 notice on generative AI says the underlying system was trained primarily on more than 1.7 million motion samples the studio owns, supplemented with a limited set of openly licensed data, and that it produces movements such as walking, greeting and dancing.
The official article gives two ways in:
- From Photo Mode: click your Zoi, open Pose, and choose Make AI Emote.
- From gameplay: click the Zoi you are playing, choose Make AI, then Make AI Emote.
Either way you upload a reference:
- An image gives you a static pose. Use a clear, full-body shot of one person facing the camera with nothing in the way.
- A video gives you an animation. Keep it to one person, full body, with the camera held still. Player guides describe a short clip limit and common formats such as MP4 and MOV; the official article does not list a limit or a format, so treat the upload dialog in your build as the authority.
Name and save the result. It is generated server-side, so you need to be online. The v0.4.0 update improved the quality of video-based emotes, and v0.5.0 fixed a crash that hit some players when creating AI emotes in Photo Mode, so if you read about that bug in a 2025 thread, it has been resolved.
Playing a Custom Emote
Per the official article, a saved emote can be used three ways:
- In Photo Mode, from the Pose menu, like any built-in pose.
- In the Studio (through Customize), for staged shots and Canvas uploads.
- In-game, where “Zois use it” during play. Player guides describe an AI Motion entry on the Zoi’s interaction menu that lists your saved emotes; the official article calls the parent option Make AI, so look for either label depending on your build.
Custom emotes only move the body. Facial expressions are handled separately in Photo Mode’s expression controls, or through the facial capture feature if your webcam is set up (the official help centre has a troubleshooting article for capture that is not working). For a scene, pair a custom emote with a chosen expression, then dress the shot: how to change outfits in Inzoi and how to change hair cover the wardrobe side.
Tips and Limits
- One person per reference. Two people in frame confuses the capture.
- Simple movement reads best. Big, clear motions such as a wave or a dance step produce cleaner results than fast, subtle ones.
- Dancing is the sweet spot. The system was explicitly trained on dance motion; see how to dance in Inzoi for the speaker-based group dance that pairs well with a custom routine.
- Save your game before long sessions. Photo Mode is stable now, but a crash still costs unsaved progress; how to save in Inzoi explains the manual save.
The rest of our coverage is on the Inzoi guides hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I open Photo Mode in Inzoi? From the menu bar in-game, or through the Photo Mode app on the smartphone (P key) added in v0.4.0.
Can my Zoi do an emote outside Photo Mode? Yes. Custom AI emotes are usable in-game from the Zoi’s interaction menu, under the Make AI or AI Motion entry depending on your build.
What kind of video works for Make AI Emote? One person, full body, stationary camera, short clip. The official article does not publish a length limit; the upload dialog shows what your build accepts.
Do AI emotes include facial expressions? No. Expressions are set separately in Photo Mode or captured through the facial capture feature.
Does Make AI Emote work offline? No. The emote is generated by the developer’s service, so an internet connection is required.