Google Photos now displays information on whether an image was edited with its AI tools

Google recently shared it would start displaying whether an image was edited using AI-powered tools, along with the information typically accessible on Google Photos. Per the blog post, the information will only appear if the image has been edited using Google AI, namely, tools like Magic Editor, Photo Unblur, and Magic Eraser. In May, Google announced it would make these tools more widely accessible to Google Photos users, including those without a Google One subscription.

According to Google, the metadata for images edited with tools such as Magic Editor, Magic Eraser, and Zoom Enhance follows the International Press Telecommunications Council's (IPTC) technical standards. As such, the metadata already reflects that AI-powered editing tools have been used on the picture. The company's recent move only makes that existing metadata more prominent by displaying it in the image's Details tab on Google Photos. Following the IPTC standards, Google's metadata now also indicates when an image is composed of elements of additional photos, as is the case with the recent Best Take and Add Me features.

Google shared this is one of several solutions it is looking into to increase transparency around AI-powered image editing.