Your Google Photos just got 3 huge Nano Banana image editing upgrades – for free

With Nano Banana now built directly into the Photos editor, you can make targeted edits using simple text or voice prompts. So, if a friend isn’t smiling in that group shot from dinner the other night, you can select “Help me edit” on the photo and ask something like “Make Corey smile and open his eyes.”

Photos uses images from your private face groups to “create personalized, accurate edits,” Google said.

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You can also ask it to turn your selfie into a watercolor painting, a vintage movie still, a storybook illustration, or even a Renaissance portrait, and it should keep your actual face intact. ChatGPT could never.

In Google Photos on iOS or Android:

1. Open the photo you want to edit.
2. Tap the Edit button.
3. Tap Help me edit in the editor.
4. Type or say something like “Remove Corey’s sunglasses,” “Brighten the sky and crop tighter on my face,” “Turn this into a 1960s fashion ad,” or “Restyle as a mosaic of colorful tiles.”
5. Preview and save your favorite result.

This feature is starting to roll out on iOS in the US. You can describe the edits you want using text or voice, and your photos will be reimagined according to your prompt while still looking like you. You can try this with other subjects in your Photos library, too, such as your partner or even your pets.

Android users have had text-based edits in Google Photos for a while, but iPhone users are now getting the Help me edit experience and the redesigned photo editor with natural language commands.

Google Photos has a new Create with AI section in the Create tab, available first for Android users in the US and India. It features themed templates — again, powered by Nano Banana — that let you apply edits instantly without writing a prompt. For example, you can turn a family portrait into a holiday card with a single tap.

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In Google Photos on Android:

1. Go to the Create tab.
2. Tap Create with AI to browse templates. The templates at launch include “Put me in a high-fashion photoshoot,” “Create a professional headshot,” and “Put me in a winter holiday card.”
3. Choose one, then select your photo or photos and let Photos generate the result.

Personalized templates are also coming soon to the Create tab in Google Photos. These templates won’t be generic but will instead use clues from your library to match your hobbies and style. So, you might see options like “Create a name doodle personalized to me” or “Create a cartoon of me and my hobbies,” Google said.

Google Photos already includes an Ask Photos feature that lets you find photos and information in your library using natural language. Now, Google is adding a new Ask button directly on your photos, expanding what you can do. This new button lets you ask questions about an image’s content or describe the edits you want to make.

For example, if you’re viewing a photo of a bird, you can tap Ask to find similar photos of that bird, learn more about it, or even edit the image — all from the same screen.

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In Google Photos on iOS or Android:

1. While viewing an image, tap the Ask button to request edits or ask more about the photo.
2. For example, type “Widen the photo and remove the red glare in my eyes,” and watch your image update in seconds.
3. You can also use it to find photos, such as “Find pictures of Maddy wearing her Halloween costume,” “Photos of my dog at the beach” or “Show me pictures from our Paris trip when it rained.”
4. You can even use Ask to learn more about the image’s contents. Just ask away.
5. Photos will show matching results and related suggestions.

Google said the Ask button is rolling out on Android and iOS in the US, while Ask Photos is expanding to more than 100 countries and 17 languages.