As AI image generation technology becomes increasingly powerful, deepfakes and other false images are becoming increasingly difficult to identify. While Google's evolving Gemini suite is partly fueling this trend, the company is trying to rein in the technology by rolling out new watermarking and detection systems more broadly.
Google Pics, Google’s latest AI image editing tool, aims to make photo modification easier than ever. The tool is currently in closed beta, with plans to make it available to more users in the coming months. At the same time, Google is expanding the use of its SynthID and C2PA tagging systems so that users can more easily distinguish unedited photos from content generated by the company's tools.
Google Pics is built on Google's latest Nano Banana AI model and integrates directly into Slides and Drive. A demo on Google's website shows the tool can move or delete objects, change colors, edit text while retaining the original font, change the visual style of images, and edit photo backgrounds to achieve a "zoom-out" effect with just a few clicks. Google Pics will be launched to AI Pro and Ultra subscribers this summer, and a preview version for Google Workspace enterprise users will also be launched simultaneously.
On the detection front, SynthID verification is now live in Google Search and will be coming to Chrome in the coming weeks. Launched in 2023, SynthID embeds invisible watermarks in images, videos, and audio generated by Google AI tools, allowing Gemini apps to tag this content for users. The feature is currently accessible through Google Lens and Search’s AI mode. To extend coverage beyond Google's own ecosystem, Nvidia added SynthID support last year, and OpenAI, Kakao, and ElevenLabs are also joining the ranks.
Google is also expanding its C2PA technology, which adds watermarks to real photos the moment they are taken. The technology debuted in the Pixel 10’s native camera app and will soon add tagging to video content on Pixel 8, 9, and 10 phones. Instagram will also support C2PA tagging soon. Additionally, the Gemini app can recognize C2PA watermarks starting today, and Google Search and Chrome will get this feature in the coming months.
These are just some of the things announced at the 2026 Google I/O conference. The company also announced a proxy-based upgrade to Google Search, new smart glasses, its answer to OpenClaw, and an AI-powered shopping cart manager, among other products.