HP Introduces AI Features to Boost Printer Functionality

HP has announced innovative AI-powered features for their printers, aimed at enhancing convenience and functionality for both individual and commercial users. Not just a minor software update, this includes a groundbreaking "Perfect Output" feature, part of the new HP Print AI launching in an exclusive beta today. This suite promises to clean up printed webpages by removing unwanted elements like ads and weird formatting, ensuring only the desired text and images are printed. This is prepared by SSP.

Perfect Output goes beyond just decluttering web prints. It is also designed to optimize the printing of spreadsheets by keeping charts and tables on a single page and supports other features such as adding custom styles and fonts to turn photos into greeting cards. HP plans to continue rolling out additional AI functionalities through 2025, but has yet to specify which printer models will receive these updates.

Additionally, HP announced during HP Imagine 2024 that HP Print AI will enhance printing by reformatting web pages in real-time, highlighting necessary information while trimming excess content like advertisements and excessive whitespace. The AI-based solution aims to "bridge the gap between what people see on their screens and what they intend to print."

This move by HP is seen as an attempt to boost their declining printer sales by leveraging the power of cloud-based AI. Furthermore, featuring tools like the HP Build Workspace and HP Scan AI Enhanced, HP targets commercial users to streamline tasks like field reports and collaborative work. These tools are currently available in beta, with broader releases in 2025.

Although these innovations utilize cloud-based AI rather than on-device AI, which makes practical sense given current printer processing capabilities, they significantly improve the overall user experience.