Say goodbye to basic edits. Google Photos just got a creative upgrade — turning your snapshots into masterpieces with the power of AI.
Google Photos is rolling out an AI upgrade that integrates its advanced Gemini-powered image editing model, Nano Banana, directly into the photo editor. This update transforms the app from a simple storage and organization tool into a sophisticated creative suite that responds to natural language commands.
According to a Google blog post by Yael Marzan, senior director of Product Management for Google Photos and Google One, the goal is to “help you do more with your memories.” The new capabilities allow users to perform complex, multi-subject edits and apply dramatic artistic transformations using simple text or voice prompts.
One of the most noteworthy enhancements is the ability to personalize edits. The AI now leverages a user’s private “face groups” to generate highly accurate and specific edits.
“Have you ever captured a moment, only to find a minor flaw like forgotten sunglasses, a friend’s closed eyes or a missed smile?” Marzan writes. Users can now simply ask: “Remove Riley’s sunglasses, open my eyes, make Engel smile and open her eyes.” This level of personalized, accurate facial revision is a significant leap for consumer photo apps.
The intuitive, text-based editing called “Help me edit” is also expanding its reach. While Android users have had access to some text edits for a while, the full conversational experience and redesigned editor are now starting to roll out on iOS in the US. This means iPhone users can now “simply describe the edits you want using your voice or text and watch Google Photos bring your vision to life,” according to Google.
Nano Banana brings creative restyling to life
The arrival of Nano Banana also allows users to go beyond simple fixes and completely reimagine their images. With the new update, users can open a photo, tap “Help me edit,” and ask for imaginative restyles.
For instance, Google suggests you could ask Photos to “paint you as a Renaissance portrait,” “restyle an image as a mosaic made of colorful tiles,” or even to “turn your photo into a page from a children’s storybook.”
For those who find creating their own prompt “daunting,” a new “Create with AI” section is being added to the Create tab on Android devices in the US and India. This section features ready-made, Nano Banana-powered templates for instant results, such as “create a professional headshot” or “put me in a high fashion photoshoot.”
Google also announced plans to roll out personalized templates that draw on a user’s hobbies and experiences from their photo gallery.
Smarter search and in-photo queries with ‘Ask Photos’
The AI updates aren’t limited to editing. Ask Photos, the conversational tool that lets users search their libraries naturally, is expanding globally. Starting this week, Ask Photos is rolling out to over 100 new countries and regions, along with support for 17 new languages.
Furthermore, a new “Ask” button is being introduced directly on individual photos. This feature lets users “dive deeper into a photo,” according to Google, allowing them to start a conversation to instantly get answers about its content, discover related moments, or describe edits without ever leaving the image view.
Remix fun in Google Messages
It’s not just Google Photos getting the AI treatment. In a separate blog post, Mikael Hveem, Product Manager for Google Messages, announced Remix, a feature that uses Nano Banana to reimagine photos directly inside chats.
Users can redesign rooms, change hairstyles, or even “turn puppies into action figures.” According to Hveem, “Anybody using Google Messages can even remix the same image back and forth — all without ever having to leave the app.”
Most of these features are rolling out globally starting this week, with availability expanding in phases. This widespread launch demonstrates Google’s commitment to deeply integrating its advanced generative AI, such as the Nano Banana model, into its core consumer applications, including Google Photos and Google Messages.
If you want the latest angle on where Google is taking this, read our coverage of Gemini AI joining Workspace as a true assistant.