Google is making changes to watermarks across its growing lineup of AI-generated content, giving creators more control over how their pictures, videos and music appear while keeping powerful identification systems quietly embedded underneath.
The company is rolling out an option to remove visible watermarks from images created with Nano Banana. The setting will be available in Gemini and Flow, with Google also preparing to introduce the feature in AI Mode within Google Search. But the move is not limited to images.
Users will also be able to remove visible watermarks from videos generated with Gemini Omni and songs created through Lyria. The change could make AI-generated media look cleaner and more suitable for creators who do not want a prominent label appearing on their finished work.
The search engine giant says the watermark-removal option will not be offered in countries where visible watermarking is required by law. In those markets, users will continue to see the legally mandated markings. And even where removal is permitted, Google’s AI fingerprints are not disappearing.
Behind scenes, Google will continue using SynthID, its invisible watermarking technology, along with C2PA metadata. These systems are designed to preserve information that can help identify content produced by Google’s AI tools even after the visible watermark has been removed.
That means removing the obvious mark does not necessarily make AI-generated content indistinguishable from human-created work.
Google is also giving users a way to investigate that hidden trail. Gemini can examine available signals and determine whether an image was generated by AI. In other words, an image may appear completely free of a visible watermark while still carrying technical indicators that can reveal its AI origin.
The change shows balancing act for Google as more freedom for creators on the surface, continued AI identification underneath. It also addresses one of recurring complaints surrounding Nano Banana, the highly noticeable watermark attached to its AI-generated images.
By separating the visible label from the underlying identification technology, Google is effectively allowing creators to control the appearance of their work without abandoning systems designed to trace its AI origins.
