Google Photos could soon tell you if an image is AI-generated

Google Photos could soon display IPTC credit metadata on images, which will be helpful in figuring out if an image is AI-generated or not. The changes are not currently live within Google Photos and could roll out in the future.

Google is planning to roll out a technology that will identify whether a photo was taken with a camera, edited by software like Photoshop, or produced by generative AI models. In the coming months, Google’s search results will include an updated “about this image feature” to let people know if an image was created or edited with AI tools.

The system Google is using is part of the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), one of the largest groups trying to address AI-generated imagery. C2PA’s authentication is a technical standard that includes information about where images originate and works across both hardware and software to create a digital trail. Amazon, Microsoft, Adobe, Arm, OpenAI, Intel, Truepic, and Google have all backed C2PA authentication, but adoption has been slow. Google’s integration into search results will be the first big test for the initiative.