You can now ask the Gemini app if an image was made by AI, thanks to Google’s SynthID tool
- You can now identify AI-generated images in the Gemini app
- Google uses SynthID technology to identify any AI image created using a Google app
- Google will also keep a visible watermark on all AI images created with the Free and Google AI Pro tiers.
AI-generated images, at least those made using Google apps, have become easier to spot. Starting today, you can upload an image you’re not sure about into the Gemini app on your mobile and simply ask it: “Was this image generated by Google’s AI?” »
The technology that enables this functionality is called SynthID. Google says it is starting implementation on images, but will soon expand to audio and video.
A release from Google says: “In addition to SynthID, we will keep a visible watermark (the Gemini sparkle) on images generated by free and Google AI Pro level users, to make images even easier to detect as generated by Google AI. »
Although Google adds that “Recognizing the need for a clean visual canvas for professional work, we will remove the visible watermark from images generated by Google AI Ultra subscribers. »
Uploading the image into the Gemini app is simple. All you have to do is press the + at the bottom of the screen, then choose either Files Or Gallerydepending on where the file is located (Gallery here means Photosfor the iOS users among us). Once you’ve uploaded the image, simply type a prompt like “Is this image generated by an AI?” » and press the > icon to send it.
Is it effective?
Google introduced SynthID in 2023. Since then, more than 20 billion pieces of AI-generated content have been watermarked using it. When you ask Gemini if an image you uploaded was created with AI, it will check the SynthID watermark and then use its own reasoning to return an answer that gives you more context about the image.
I tried using Gemini to check whether an image I created using the new Nano Banana Pro was AI-generated, and it identified the invisible watermark, although Gemini’s visible watermark – the sparkle – at the bottom right of the image was a dead giveaway anyway.
But how does Gemini fare with AI images that aren’t created by Google? Obviously, when I uploaded an image created using ChatGPT (which doesn’t use a visual watermark) into Gemini, it couldn’t locate a SynthID watermark (because there isn’t one) and could only make its best guess whether the image was AI based on visual cues. He decided it was, but I didn’t feel like it was particularly safe.
I tried it with a random image I found on the internet and it said: “This image is not made with Google AI, but it is not possible to determine if it was generated with other AI tools.” »
My overall impression is that Google’s efforts to help detect AI images are a step in the right direction, but until there is a digital watermarking system widely adopted by all AI image generation platforms and aimed at consumers, this system remains a flawed system at best.
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