The big picture: As AI image generators become more powerful, deepfakes and other fabricated images are becoming harder to spot. While Google's evolving Gemini suite is partially responsible, the company is trying to keep the technology under control by making new watermarking and detection systems more widely available.
Google Pics is the company's new AI image-editing tool, which aims to make altering photos easier than ever. The tool is currently in closed testing, with a broader rollout planned for the coming months. In parallel, Google is widening access to its SynthID and C2PA labeling systems, so users can more easily discern between unedited photos and the output of the company's tools.
Built on Google's latest Nano Banana AI model, Google Pics integrates directly into Slides and Drive. Demos on the company's website show it can shift or remove objects in a few clicks, swap colors, edit text while preserving the original font, change a picture's visual style, and edit the background of a photo to "zoom out."
Google Pics will roll out to AI Pro and Ultra subscribers this summer, with a preview for Google Workspace business users arriving alongside it.
On the detection side, SynthID verification is now live in Google Search and will reach Chrome within weeks. Introduced in 2023, SynthID embeds invisible watermarks into images, video, and audio produced by Google's AI tools, allowing the Gemini app to flag them for users.
The feature is accessible today 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 hopping on the bandwagon.
Google is also expanding C2PA, which watermarks genuine photos the moment they are taken. The technology debuted in the Pixel 10's native camera app and will soon mark video content from Pixel 8, 9, and 10 phones. Instagram will also soon support C2PA labeling.
Additionally, the Gemini app can identify C2PA watermarks starting today. Google Search and Chrome will receive the feature in the coming months.
These are just some of the announcements from Google I/O 2026. The company also revealed agentic upgrades to Google Search, new smartglasses, its answer to OpenClaw, and an AI-powered shopping cart manager.