Google on Thursday announced that effective this week, it will begin adding a digital watermark to images in Photos that are edited with generative AI.

Spotting AI's work can be increasingly difficult as its capabilities and subtleties continue to improve. This continued shift makes labeling AI generated work all the more critical — something that is being done in bits and pieces.

Google Photos is adding its digital SynthID watermarks to photos that have been edited using the Magic Editor’s generative AI feature. The new feature is rolling out “this week” according to Google, and is intended to make it easier for people to quickly identify images that have been manipulated using the “reimagine” tool in Magic Editor.

All photos that derive creative benefits from AI courtesy of Magic Editor's Reimagine tool will be watermarked at the pixel-level in the Google Photos app.

For those unaware, DeepMind, led by Demis Hassabis, unveiled its SynthID watermarking tool back in August 2023. The technology essentially works by embedding a watermark directly