Google Debuts AI-Powered Image Creation Tool

Google is set to launch its image creation/editing tool, Google Pics, for its Google Workspace platform. The tool, which will be available to all Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers, as well as most Workspace business customers, will debut over the coming weeks. According to Google, Pics is built on their Nano Banana image generation and editing model and provides users with the control needed to create their desired images, whether it's for designing a poster, social media posts, or editing digital illustrations.

The tool will be both a standalone product and integrated into Workspace apps, starting with Slides, Docs, and Drive, allowing users to edit images within their existing workflow. Google Pics offers features such as isolating an object for targeted editing without affecting the rest of the image, inputting text comments to make specific changes, and modifying or translating text within an image without disrupting the design or changing the font.

TechCrunch notes that Google Pics serves a similar purpose to popular design tools like Adobe Express and Canva, but differs in that it is an AI-powered tool trained on artists' works, used for everyday work and personal tasks. Unlike Canva, which allows artists to publish their creations for royalties, Google Pics creates images based on AI prompts.

Additionally, unlike Adobe Express, which creators use to design from scratch, Google Pics is a tool where users create images based on prompts rather than designing something new. PYMNTS Intelligence reports from its ninth Consumer AI Benchmark Study, published in July, show that 61% of workplace gen AI users have used the technology for at least a year, while 12% started within the past six months.

The report highlights that at work, the integration of generative AI changes both tool and task choices, with longer-term users moving towards dedicated platforms, adding specialized tools, and using AI for more complex decisions. The report emphasizes that user skill, workflow depth, and retention are key factors driving growth, while personal use still offers opportunities to recruit and engage newer users.