When words just won’t do, GIPHY Inc. has always been the go-to place when you need the perfect GIF to send to a friend. The animated GIF search engine, who raised $55 million Series C in February, has now made it even easier to get your hands on GIFs with the introduction of GIPHY Keys, a GIF keyboard for iOS users.

We look at how you can now find the best GIFs and create your own directly from your keyboard in any app.

Download GIPHY Keys and install the keyboard

Download GIPHY Keys for iOS from the App Store. The app requires iOS 8.0 or later.

Once it has been installed on your device you will need to install it as a keyboard on your iPhone. Go to the Settings app > General > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard > tap on GIPHY Keys.

How to find the best GIFs

No matter what app you are in, simply tap the little globe icon in the bottom left of your keyboard, which will bring up the GIPHY Keys interface and you can start searching for the perfect GIF.

Send trending GIFs

When you first open the GIPHY Keys interface you will see a real-time feed of trending GIFs. Scroll through the GIFs and find the most relevant one for your response.

Find specific GIFs

Looking for a specific gift, simply start typing, scroll through the suggested GIFs and find the one you love.

Search the categories for different GIFs

GIPHY Keys has a curated list of GIFs under various categories that will allow you to find the most appropriate GIF. Tap the upside-down smiley face icon, search through the categories (thumbs down, applause, popcorn, etc.) and choose your GIF.

Save your favorite GIFs for easy access

If you come across GIFs you love or ones you use regularly you can add them to your favorites for easy access. Simply tap the heart icon > Save to Favorites. Or simply double tap the GIF you love and it will automatically be added to your favorites.

Create your own GIFs using hashtag commands

Tap the magic 8 ball icon > tap #echo > type in your message and your words will be transformed into a GIF.

Under the magic 8 ball icon, you will also find #sticker, which will allow you to discover random animated stickers, and #text will allow you to find the perfect text GIF of the word you just typed in. Others include #8ball that will give you the answers to your life questions, while if you tap #weather, input your zip code it will find the weather for you.

How to send GIFs to friends and family

When you have found the best GIF using one of the methods above, simply tap the GIF and it will copy automatically. Tap in your chat to paste the GIF > tap Send.

If you tap and hold the GIF you will be given more options, like posting the GIF link to Twitter or Facebook.

Image via: Apple App Store