Google outlines plans to help you sort real images from fake

Google is planning to roll out a technology that will identify whether a photo was taken with a camera, edited by software like Photoshop, or produced by generative AI models. In the coming months, Google’s search results will include an updated “about this image feature” to let people know if an image was created or edited with AI tools.

The system Google is using is part of the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), one of the largest groups trying to address AI-generated imagery. C2PA’s authentication is a technical standard that includes information about where images originate and works across both hardware and software to create a digital trail. Amazon, Microsoft, Adobe, Arm, OpenAI, Intel, Truepic, and Google have all backed C2PA authentication, but adoption has been slow. Google’s integration into search results will be a first big test for the initiative.

Google has helped develop the latest C2PA technical standard (version 2.1) and will use it alongside a forthcoming C2PA trust list, which allows platforms like Google Search to confirm the origin of content. “For example, if the data shows an image was taken by a specific camera model, the trust list helps validate that this piece of information is accurate,” says Laurie Richardson, vice president of trust and safety at Google.

Google also plans to integrate C2PA metadata into its ad systems. “Our goal is to ramp this up over time and use C2PA signals to inform how we enforce key policies,” says Richardson. “We’re also exploring ways to relay C2PA information to viewers on YouTube when content is captured with a camera, and we’ll have more updates on that later in the year.”

While Google stands out as one of the first big tech companies to adopt C2PA’s authentication standard, there are plenty of adoption and interoperability challenges ahead to get this working across a broad variety of hardware and software. Only a handful of cameras from Leica and Sony support the C2PA’s open technical standard, which adds camera settings metadata as well as the data and location of where an image was taken to photographs. Nikon and Canon have both pledged to adopt the C2PA standard, and we’re still waiting to hear whether Apple and Google will implement C2PA support into iPhones and Android devices.

Adobe’s Photoshop and Lightroom apps can add C2PA data, but Affinity Photo, Gimp, and many others don’t. There are also challenges around how to view the data once it’s added to a photo, with most big online platforms not offering labels. Google’s adoption in search results may encourage others to roll out similar labels, though.

“Establishing and signaling content provenance remains a complex challenge, with a range of considerations based on the product or service,” admits Richardson. “And while we know there’s no silver bullet solution for all content online, working with others in the industry is critical to create sustainable and interoperable solutions.”