A lot of people know exactly what they want their raw picture to look like. But they don’t know how to actually get there with editing. There are so many sliders and filters that make the process feel too technical to even try hard enough.
But if you could just tell Google Photos to make the sky bluer or remove that unwanted object in the background, your vision for your images can come to life. It's now possible in a new update to the app.
Just ask nicely, and Photos will transform your pictures
The Pixel 10 had first dibs on Google’s conversational photo editing, and at the time it felt like yet another case of Pixel privilege. The company has used its Pixel lineup as a testing ground for ambitious AI features like Magic Eraser and Best Take.
Most of them start as exclusives before slowly trickling down to other devices. Lucky for us, Google has confirmed that the latest feature will indeed reach other Android devices in the USA.
Conversational editing in Photos is a new AI-powered tool that lets you edit pictures by simply describing what you want changed. For example, you could say “remove the cars in the background” “brighten the sky” or “make it look like a vintage photo”.
The app interprets your request and shows you the result in seconds. You can refine it further with follow-up instructions. When it's available, you'll open a picture, tap “Help me edit”, then either type or speak your edit request.
In the demo video, an alpaca is shown on a farm with Google instructing the app to “make it look like he’s in Waikiki on vacation”. The AI cut out the alpaca from its original setting, generated a brand-new tropical beach background, and added a cocktail to match the vacation mood.
Admittedly, the result was clean enough to convince anyone who hasn't seen AI work before, or an alpaca sipping a drink, that it's real. With concerns around this sort of thing, Google has added C2PA Content Credentials.
Now, every time you take or edit a photo on a Pixel 10, the image will carry a digital receipt that shows when the photo was taken, how it was edited, and whether AI was involved.
Related: Google Photos Brings Memories To Life As New AI Features Roll Out
Google Photos has more under its sleeves
There are roughly up to 30 different editing tools on Google Photos to play with before the conversational editing feature hits your device. While editing an image, tap the search icon to see them all. Some examples are as follows:
- Filters – Choose from various styles for aesthetic looks
- Sky styles – Change the appearance of skies.
- Vignette – Darken edges for focus or retro feel.
- Magic Eraser – Remove unwanted objects or people.
- Move – Change position or resize selections.
- Portrait Blur – Blur backgrounds in portraits.
- Mirror – Flip images horizontally.
You'll need to upload an image into Photos before you can use its tool. The edits aren’t happening locally on your phone the way a basic brightness or crop tool would, and they need to pass through Google’s servers.
Also, your results depend heavily on the quality of the source photo. Even with all the magic terms marketed, the app can't perform miracles on low-resolution or badly taken pictures.
