Google Photos gets an AI upgrade that turns your photos into videos

Google Photos has evolved beyond being just a place to store your memories; it’s really become a creative canvas. Today, Google is adding some powerful new brushes to your palette with a few new creative tools designed to help you bring your memories to life in fun and dynamic new ways.

Announced on the Google Blog, the Google Photos app is getting a new “Photo to video” feature, a “Remix” tool for creating fun art styles, and a new “Create tab” to house it all.

Bring your photos to life with ‘Photo to video’

We’ve already been blown away by the photo-to-video capability in Gemini, and now Google is bringing a similar feature directly into Google Photos. Powered by the Veo 2 model, this tool makes it easier than ever to create fun, short videos from the photos already saved in your gallery. Google paints a powerful picture of its potential, like “a cherished photo of your parent as a child smiling back at you.”

The process is simple: just select a picture from your gallery and choose from one of two prompts — “Subtle movements” or “I’m feeling lucky” — to animate your photo and turn it into a dynamic six-second video clip that’s ready to share. This feature is starting to roll out today in the U.S. on Android and iOS.

‘Remix’ your photos into new art styles

Have you ever wondered what your pets would look like as anime characters or your family as a comic strip? The new Remix feature in Google Photos is here to answer that question. You can pick a photo from your gallery and choose from a selection of styles—including anime, comics, sketches, or 3D animations—to transform your pictures into unique images in seconds, ready to share with friends and family. Remix will start rolling out in the U.S. on both Android and iOS in the next few weeks.

A new ‘Create tab’ to find it all

To make all these creative tools easy to find, Google is also launching a new Create tab in the Photos app. This new hub will put every creative feature—including Photo to video, Remix, collages, highlight videos, and more—all in one convenient place so you can easily find the tool you need. The Create tab will begin rolling out in the U.S. in August.

Google is also being transparent about the responsible roll-out of these powerful AI tools. All videos and photos generated with these new features will include an invisible SynthID digital watermark. Videos created with Photo to video will also include a visual watermark for added transparency. Google notes that these features are experimental and is encouraging users to provide feedback to help them improve.