Google has expanded access to its SynthID Detector, allowing users worldwide to check images, videos and audio files for signs that they were generated using artificial intelligence, as technology companies face growing pressure to improve transparency around AI-created content.
The tool is now available globally in English and supports the verification of media created using Google's AI tools and those of partner companies, including OpenAI, NVIDIA and Kakao. Apple is also expected to join the initiative, according to information released by Google.
BrandIconImage reported on Saturday that Google DeepMind Vice-President of Science and Strategic Initiatives, Pushmeet Kohli, announced the expansion in a statement published on the company's blog on October 7, 2026.
Kohli said the initiative was intended to help people better understand the origin of digital content and make informed decisions about what they encounter online as AI technology becomes increasingly accessible and sophisticated.
“As AI tools become better and easier to use, having clear context about the content you encounter online helps you make informed decisions about what to trust,” he said.
Technology designed to identify AI-generated media
Google introduced SynthID in 2023 as a technology for embedding imperceptible digital watermarks into AI-generated content. The watermarks are designed to help identify media produced using supported AI systems without visibly altering the content.
The technology can be embedded in images, videos and audio, providing a way to trace their origins even when the material is shared across digital platforms.
According to Kohli, SynthID has been used on a vast scale, covering more than 180 billion images and videos, as well as audio content equivalent to 240,000 years of continuous playback.
“To date, we’ve watermarked over 180 billion images and videos, along with 240,000 years of audio content,” he said.
The scale of adoption highlights the growing role of watermarking technologies in efforts to establish the provenance of digital media. As generative AI tools become capable of producing increasingly realistic photographs, videos, voices and other content, determining whether a piece of media was created by a person or generated by a machine has become more challenging.
However, watermarking is not the same as detecting every form of AI-generated content. A detector's ability to identify media depends on whether the content carries a watermark or other supported signals that the system can recognise.
From media professionals to the general public
The global rollout follows Google's introduction of an early version of SynthID Detector last year, which was initially designed to help media professionals verify AI-generated content.
The latest expansion broadens access beyond professional users, giving members of the public an additional tool for examining digital media they encounter online.
Explaining the move, Kohli said: “Last year, we introduced an early version of the SynthID Detector to help media professionals verify AI-generated content. Now, we’re expanding access to everyone – with the tool available globally in English starting today.”
The detector allows users to submit images, videos or audio files for analysis to determine whether there are indications that the content was generated using supported AI systems.
“With the new SynthID Detector, anyone can easily check if an image, video, or audio file was made with AI from Google or our partners, including OpenAI, NVIDIA, Kakao, and soon, Apple,” Kohli said.
The tool is available through Google's SynthID Detector service, offering users another option for investigating the origins of digital material before accepting or sharing it.
Its wider availability could be particularly relevant to journalists, researchers, educators and social media users who regularly encounter images, recordings and videos whose authenticity is difficult to establish from appearance alone.
Google expands its verification ecosystem
SynthID Detector forms part of Google's broader efforts to provide additional context about digital content through its existing products and services.
Kohli said the detector complements verification features available through Google Search, the Gemini application and the Chrome browser. According to him, those features collectively handle more than one million requests daily.
“This tool joins our built-in verification features in Search, the Gemini app, and Chrome, which now regularly handle over 1 million requests daily,” he said.
He added that the wider initiative was aimed at helping users navigate the internet with greater awareness of the material they encounter.
“It’s all part of our ongoing work to give you more context about the media you see online, so you can navigate the web with confidence,” Kohli said.
The expansion reflects a broader industry effort to develop tools that help distinguish authentic recordings and photographs from AI-generated material. Technology companies, news organisations and digital platforms are increasingly exploring watermarking, content credentials and other verification methods as synthetic media becomes more common.
Implications for misinformation and digital trust
The growing availability of AI-generated media has intensified concerns about misinformation, impersonation and the unauthorised use of people's likenesses and voices. Realistic synthetic videos and audio recordings can be used to create misleading impressions, circulate fabricated claims or imitate public figures and private individuals.
Tools such as SynthID Detector could help users assess suspicious material and provide an additional layer of information when evaluating its credibility.
Nevertheless, the technology should not be treated as a definitive test of authenticity. The absence of a detectable SynthID watermark does not automatically mean that content is genuine or that AI was not involved in its creation. Media produced using unsupported tools, or content that lacks a detectable watermark, may not be identified by the system.
Similarly, detecting a watermark can provide evidence about a file's origins without necessarily establishing whether its claims are accurate or whether it has been presented in a misleading context.
For journalists and newsrooms, this distinction is particularly important. Automated detection can support verification efforts, but it does not replace source checks, independent corroboration, contextual analysis and other established fact-checking procedures.
The expansion of SynthID Detector therefore represents an additional resource in the effort to improve transparency around AI-generated content rather than a complete solution to the challenges posed by synthetic media.
As AI systems continue to advance, the effectiveness of such initiatives will depend not only on the scale of watermarking but also on wider adoption, compatibility across platforms and the development of complementary methods for establishing the authenticity and provenance of digital information.