- Google’s Nano Banana AI image model is now integrated into Search via Lens and NotebookLM
- In Search, users can take or upload photos and use AI prompts to transform them.
- NotebookLM can leverage Nano Banana to enhance video overviews with six creative styles and two summary formats
Google’s newest visual AI model, Gemini 2.5 Flash, known as Nano Banana, is now rolling out within Google Search and NotebookLM, with Google Photos next on the menu. Google hopes you enjoy using the generative AI model while it’s integrated into the tools you already use.
On Google Search, Nano Banana appears through Google Lens and AI Mode. Tap the new ‘Create’ tab and you can point your phone at an object, select an image or upload a photo and ask the AI to transform it however you want. You can also generate images completely from scratch using AI mode and any message you want.
Meanwhile, at NotebookLM, Nano Banana is working behind the scenes to power the Video Overviews tool that turns uploaded documents into narrated explainer videos.
Now, those overviews come with six new visual styles: watercolor, papercraft, anime, chalkboard, retro print, and heritage. You can also switch between two types of videos: an in-depth ‘Explainer’ and a much smaller ‘Short’.
Select the documents or notes you want to summarize, press “Video Overview,” and customize the resulting video using drop-down menus or inline text prompts. The new images are not only decorative, but also take into account the context. Nano Banana extracts illustrations from the content of your documents, meaning animations relate to what is being said rather than including stock images.
There are many people who might find Nano Banana useful in both apps, whether they’re students using NotebookLM to prepare for final exams or poster simulations in Lens for a work presentation. It’s a bit like a visual version of Gmail’s autocomplete and Smart Replies that Google already offers.
Nano banana split
Google’s efforts here are familiar to those watching how AI tools appear in existing software. Microsoft’s Copilot is part of Edge and Office, while OpenAI models are increasingly used in more third-party applications. Adobe wants to make AI imaging tools available in Photoshop and beyond, including using Nano Banana.
Google has some advantage only in the quality of Nano Banana, which the company says has been used to create more than five billion images. It offers a level of consistency that people like, preserving facial details, object layout and style across images.
Of course, it’s not perfect, and sometimes directions are misinterpreted or errors arise. But for many users, the balance between speed and polish is more than acceptable.
Google promises that this is not the end of the Nano Banana expansion. Google Photos will also have access to the model, likely allowing for more stylized and editable versions of your existing photo memories.
Unless, of course, you just want to use the new Nano Banana compatible camera equipment that is now available for sale.
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