How AI Background Removal Works — Traditional background removal required painstaking manual work in tools like Photoshop, where users would trace around subjects with the pen tool or magic wand and carefully refine edges pixel by pixel. Modern AI has transformed this process entirely. ConvertKr's background remover uses an ONNX (Open Neural Network Exchange) deep learning model that has been trained on millions of images to understand what constitutes a "foreground subject" versus a "background." When you upload an image, the neural network analyzes every pixel, assigning a probability of whether it belongs to the subject or the background. This probability map, known as a segmentation mask, is then applied to the original image to produce a clean cutout with a transparent background. The entire inference pipeline runs locally in your browser through WebAssembly, which means your images stay on your device and processing speeds rival native applications on modern hardware.
ONNX Neural Network Processing — ONNX is an open format for representing machine learning models, supported by Microsoft, Meta, and the broader AI community. By running the model in ONNX format via WebAssembly, ConvertKr eliminates the need for server-side GPU processing. The model weights are downloaded once (approximately 40 MB) and cached in your browser's storage. On subsequent visits, the model loads from cache in seconds. During inference, the model processes your image through multiple convolutional layers that progressively extract features — from basic edges and textures to high-level semantic understanding of objects, people, and scenes. The final output layer produces a pixel-precise alpha mask that determines which areas remain visible and which become transparent.
Use Cases for Background Removal — Removing backgrounds has become essential across a wide range of industries and workflows. E-commerce sellers use background removal to create clean, white-background product photos that meet marketplace requirements on Amazon, eBay, Shopify, and Etsy. Social media managers remove backgrounds to create eye-catching profile pictures, thumbnails, and branded graphics. Marketing teams use transparent cutouts to compose visuals for advertisements, email campaigns, banners, and landing pages. Educators and presenters remove backgrounds from diagrams, headshots, and illustrations to create polished slides. Real estate photographers clean up interior shots. Graphic designers integrate cutout subjects into composite artwork. Even casual users benefit — removing the background from a selfie to create a custom sticker or a fun profile image takes just seconds with ConvertKr.
Tips for Best Results — While the AI model handles most scenarios impressively, a few simple practices can help you achieve even cleaner results. First, use images with good lighting — well-lit subjects produce sharper edges and cleaner separations. Avoid heavy shadows that blend the subject into the background. Second, ensure a clear distinction between the subject and the background. High-contrast images (such as a person wearing dark clothing against a light wall) tend to produce the crispest cutouts. Third, higher-resolution images generally yield better results because the model has more pixel data to work with. Photos from modern smartphones (12 MP and above) work excellently. Fourth, simple subjects with well-defined outlines — such as a person, a pet, a product, or a piece of furniture — produce the best results. Extremely fine details like individual hair strands or semi-transparent materials (veils, glass) can be more challenging, though the AI still handles them remarkably well in most cases.
Why Transparent PNG Matters — The output format matters as much as the removal quality. ConvertKr exports every result as a PNG file with a full alpha channel. PNG is the gold standard for images that need transparency because it is lossless (no quality degradation) and universally supported across every major design tool, web browser, office suite, and operating system. Unlike JPG, which does not support transparency and would fill removed areas with a solid color, PNG preserves the transparent regions exactly as the AI produced them. This means you can open the file in Canva, Figma, Photoshop, Google Slides, PowerPoint, or any other application and immediately place the subject onto a new background without any additional editing. For web developers, transparent PNGs integrate seamlessly into HTML and CSS layouts, allowing subjects to float over gradients, patterns, or video backgrounds.