Google’s AI will now both create fake images and help detect them as Gemini gains the ability to detect (some) AI-generated images

A screenshot of Google Gemini telling a user that an image is likely AI generated
(Image credit: Google)

In a whirlwind of new AI announcements this week, Google’s AI has a new skill: the ability to tell users if an image is likely an AI-generated fake.

On the heels of the launch of Google Gemini 3 and Nano Banana Pro, Google announced that the Gemini app now has AI image verification. The tool allows users to upload an image to the chatbox and ask in plain language whether or not the image is AI-generated.

The tool only works with images generated with Google’s AI, so the chatbot won’t be able to say if an image was generated by another platform.

The tool works by reading the SynthID, the invisible watermarking that Google adds to its AI-generated images. Google says that users just have to upload the image in Gemini and ask: Is this AI-generated?

Demos of the feature illustrate that the tool can analyze how much of the image has a SynthID, in order to help recognize partially doctored images.

While the feature only works with SynthID for now, Google says that it has added C2PA content credentials to Nano Banana Pro, which is a standardized type of invisible AI watermark used across multiple platforms. Google says it plans to bring the ability to detect C2PA credentials into Gemini as well, which would give the chatbot the ability to detect fakes beyond just those created by Google’s AI.

Google indicates the Gemini’s ability to spot fakes is just the start. The company is planning on adding a similar feature for videos and audio. The company also says that it plans to build similar capabilities into Search.

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Hillary K. Grigonis
US Editor

With more than a decade of experience writing about cameras and technology, Hillary K. Grigonis leads the US coverage for Digital Camera World. Her work has appeared in Business Insider, Digital Trends, Pocket-lint, Rangefinder, The Phoblographer, and more. Her wedding and portrait photography favors a journalistic style. She’s a former Nikon shooter and a current Fujifilm user, but has tested a wide range of cameras and lenses across multiple brands. Hillary is also a licensed drone pilot.

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