Google Messages May Soon Tell You if an Image Was Made with AI

Google may soon make it easier to identify AI-generated images in Messages. Newly discovered evidence suggests the company is working on support for Content Credentials, a technology that stores information about how an image was created or edited. Once available, the feature could help users determine AI-generated images. It could also differentiate between images modified using AI tools or captured and edited through traditional methods.

Google Messages will help you identify AI images in chats

Telling whether an image is real has become increasingly difficult in the age of AI. From heavily edited social media photos to fully AI-generated artwork and fake news images, digital content is becoming harder to verify at a glance. Google aims to tackle that with a new feature in Messages.

Code discovered by Android Authority suggests the app may soon analyze images shared in conversations and present detailed information about their origins. Rather than simply labeling an image as AI-generated or not, the feature appears capable of providing much more nuanced explanations. Users may see labels stating that an image was “Edited with AI tools,” “Media made with AI,” or “Parts of this media were made with AI.”

Google Messages may also recognize traditional editing methods, combined media, camera-captured photos, and content that contains a mixture of AI-generated and non-AI elements. In case the system can’t conclude anything, the app may indicate uncertainty. Google intends to communicate confidence levels rather than present definitive conclusions when evidence is inconclusive.

Google already supports technologies such as SynthID, which embeds invisible watermarks into AI-generated images. Bringing Content Credentials to Messages would extend those efforts. However, as of this writing, the feature remains under development. It may take a while for it to roll out publicly. We will let you know when we have more information about it.