Google Integrates AI-Generated Image Detection Into the Gemini App

Google has integrated SynthID detection directly into the Gemini app, enabling users to verify whether images were generated or edited by Google AI. SynthID was introduced in 2023 – and since then 20 billion AI-generated pieces of content have been watermarked using the technology – but the technology detecting watermarks was previously available only through private beta releases. The new integration allows people more widely to make informed decision about whether an image was generated or manipulated by AI.

SynthID, developed by Google's DeepMind lab, inserts an imperceptible pattern into AI-generated pixel outputs, and unlike visual watermarks or metadata tags that can be lost when images are reposted, SynthID's watermarking survives changes such as scaling, cropping, colour alterations, and high JPEG compression. The technology was previously tested with journalists and media professionals through the SynthID Detector verification portal, and with the wider release, Google hopes, more people will be able to make more informed judgements about images' reliability. Studies have repeatedly shown that people can correctly identify synthetic images only about 50–60% of the time—a performance not significantly better than chance. However, there is a crucial caveat: SynthID can spot only content watermarked with SynthID, and if an image is from a model or tool that does not embed the watermark, Gemini will not be able to authenticate AI involvement.

Google plans to expand SynthID verification to support additional formats beyond images, such as video and audio, and images generated by Imagen 3 in the Gemini app, Vertex AI, and Google Ads now have C2PA metadata embedded. SynthID inside Gemini will not identify every fake, but it does give users a fast and reliable read when the source is playing along with watermarking—an important step towards rebuilding trust in what we see online.

Sources:

1. https://blog.google/technology/ai/ai-image-verification-gemini-app/
2. https://www.findarticles.com/google-includes-synthid-detection-in-gemini/