Google Photos adds AI features for ‘remixing’ photos in different styles, turning pics into videos

Google Photos is getting major AI chops. On Wednesday, Google announced a handful of new features that will allow users to get more creative with their photo memories, including an option to turn photos into videos, and “remix” photos into different styles, like anime, comics, sketches or 3D animations.

The app will also centralize access to its creative tools — including both AI-powered and traditional tools — in a new “Create” tab in the Photos app. The two newly launched features will be housed in this tab, alongside other tools that let you create collages, highlight videos, and other things.

The update brings AI prowess to one of Google’s most popular consumer-facing services: Google Photos today has over 1.5 billion users. That will put AI into more people’s hands, including those who have not spent as much time experimenting with what AI can do. It also gives Google a large base to learn from as people try out the new features.

The company noted these features are experimental, so it will ask users to leave a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on the AI-generated images and videos to provide feedback. That feedback will help Google to improve the product and overall experience, it says.

With the new photo-to-video feature, similar to the offering already available in Gemini (and, as of today, YouTube), users will be able to make short videos from their own photos using Google’s Veo 2 model. In past years, animating old family photos was a clever trick, driving downloads of apps like MyHeritage as people brought long-past relatives to life. Now, that ability is being commoditized with the use of AI.

Once you’ve selected a photo, you can choose from one of two prompts — “Subtle movements,” or “I’m feeling lucky” — to turn the photo into a six-second video clip.

Photo to Video is rolling out from today to users in the U.S. on Android and iOS.

Meanwhile, the new Remix feature, powered by Google’s Imagen AI model, lets you pick any photo from your gallery, then transform it into a different style in just seconds.

This feature will be available in the U.S. on Android and iOS in the next few weeks.

Both features will include an invisible SynthID digital watermark on their outputs to identify them as being AI-generated. Google Photos already does this with other AI tools, like images edited using Reimagine, for example. Generated videos will also include a visual watermark, similar to those generated by Gemini.

The Create tab will arrive in the U.S. in August. Google says it will update the tab over time, adding new tools and experiments, and refining existing options.

The AI features were introduced alongside similar tools for YouTube Shorts, which is also now offering its own photo-to-video option as well as new AI effects, powered by Veo 2. (Shorts will get access to Veo 3 later this summer, Google said.)