Google Expands Nano Banana: The AI Image Editor Goes Beyond Gemini 2.5
When Google unveiled the Nano Banana image-editing model as part of Gemini 2.5 Flash, it signaled a shift toward conversational, prompt-driven image editing. The company didn’t keep the feature confined to a development sandbox. Over the summer, Nano Banana emerged as a powerful tool for modifying photos with simple prompts, and now Google is rolling it out across its core products. The goal is clear: make image editing so accessible that users can shape visuals directly in search, photos, and even notebooks with minimal friction.
Integration into Search: Lens, AI Mode, and a New Create Button
In Search, Nano Banana will integrate with Lens and the AI Mode, letting users edit images without leaving the app. The rollout plan includes a visible “Create” button at the bottom of Lens, accompanied by a playful banana icon. Tapping this prompts the AI to describe how the photo could be changed and to apply edits via a conversational interface. This is more than a novelty; it’s a fundamental shift in how users interact with images during a search session. The flow is designed to be intuitive: snap a photo, request a modification, and receive automated results with options for follow-up tweaks.
Google emphasizes that the edit session can continue within AI Mode, enabling further refinements without switching apps. This nested conversational experience mirrors Google’s broader push toward a more integrated, assistant-led search and editing workflow.
NotebookLM: New Nano Banana Video Styles and Guided Prompts
NotebookLM is expanding Nano Banana beyond static image edits to video-based content, signaling a hybrid approach to AI-assisted documentation. The notebook platform has already experimented with AI-generated video summaries, but the Nano Banana update introduces a new set of video styles. In addition to Classic, users can choose styles like whiteboard, anime, retro print, and other distinctive aesthetics. The intent is to provide a consistent visual tone across notes and summaries, simplifying the process of turning information into shareable video formats.
Importantly, NotebookLM’s video features are not fully autonomous: while you can select a style and add prompts to steer the narrative, results depend on generative AI outputs. The update aims to strike a balance between creative freedom and reliable, predictable styling—benefiting students and professionals who rely on NotebookLM for content capture and quick visual storytelling.
Google Photos: Progressive Rollout of Nano Banana Creativity
Perhaps the most anticipated destination for Nano Banana is Google Photos. While Google has not published a firm timeline, officials say the Nano Banana model represents a major upgrade over previous image-editing capabilities. Conversations with the AI editor were introduced to Photos last month, but testers note that Nano Banana’s performance stands out due to more natural edits and richer prompt interpretation. Google’s plan is to bring these conversational edits to Photos within the next few weeks, offering a streamlined path for users to adjust lighting, color balance, composition, and more through prompts—and without complex adjustment sliders.
The Photos rollout aligns with Google’s broader strategy: make advanced AI tools accessible directly where people store and view their memories. If Nano Banana proves reliable in Photos, it could become the default way many users tweak images after capture, from simple color tweaks to more creative transformations.
What This Means for Users and the AI Image Edit Landscape
Google’s Nano Banana expansion signals a broader industry trend: AI image editing that is conversational, context-aware, and deeply integrated into everyday apps. For users, the value is clear: fewer clicks, faster edits, and the ability to iterate quickly in familiar environments. For developers and competitors, Nano Banana raises the bar for what “native” AI editing looks like—especially when it’s accessible through search, photo galleries, and knowledge work tools like notebooks.
As with all AI-driven features, expectations should be tempered by the realities of generative systems. Edits may not always be perfect on the first try, and some results may require human judgment for precision—especially in professional settings. Nonetheless, Nano Banana’s multi-product rollout demonstrates Google’s confidence in this approach and its potential to become a standard tool for visual editing across the ecosystem.
Looking Ahead
With Nano Banana headed to Lens in Search, Google Photos, and NotebookLM, users should anticipate a more fluid, prompt-based editing experience. The continued blending of conversational AI with image and video production is likely to reshape how people search for, modify, and present visual content in the near term.
