The tech giant came forward as the creator of the viral nano-banana AI image model.
Google just upgraded its AI image model, and it actually looks to be a pretty significant step up. The company rolled out Gemini 2.5 Flash Image today, a major refresh that promises smarter and more flexible image generation.
The upgraded model allows users to issue natural language prompts to not only generate images but also merge existing photos and make more precise edits without creating weird distortions. It also taps into Gemini’s “world knowledge” to better understand what it’s generating.
This upgrade comes as Google tries to close the gap with the industry leader, OpenAI. In the past, image generation has been a major driver for AI. ChatGPT usage skyrocketed in March when the company launched its GPT-4o native image generator. The viral Studio Ghibli memes generated by the model resulted in the company’s GPU models melting, according to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
