Google opens its SynthID Detector to everyone for spotting AI-generated media
SynthID Detector is now available to everyone. 🌐 Check whether online content was generated using @GoogleAI, or with tools from our industry partners – including @OpenAI, @NVIDIA, Kakao and coming soon, @Apple. Try it out →
Context
Anyone can now check whether an image, video or audio file carries an AI watermark from Google or its partners.
SynthID is Google's invisible watermark for AI-generated content. Google AI says it has watermarked 180 billion images and videos, and the detector also covers content from partners such as OpenAI, NVIDIA and Kakao, with Apple coming soon.
Deep dive
Google opened its SynthID Detector to everyone on October 7, available globally in English. Anyone can upload an image, video or audio file and check whether it carries a SynthID watermark, Google's invisible marker for AI-generated media.
The detector reads watermarks from Google's own models and from partners that use SynthID, including OpenAI, NVIDIA and Kakao. An earlier version was limited to journalists, media professionals and researchers.
Google says it has watermarked more than 180 billion images and videos and more than 240,000 years of audio since 2023, and that the checks built into Search, the Gemini app and Chrome handle over 1 million verification requests a day. TechCrunch noted that Microsoft and Meta use their own watermarking standards and that detection tools like this are not infallible.
What to expect next
Google says Apple support for SynthID is coming soon, without giving a date.
Because Microsoft and Meta use their own standards, a single check still does not cover all AI-generated media, so how far SynthID spreads across the industry is the thing to watch.