Google Search integrates AI photo editing feature – useful or redundant?

Google has just integrated a new AI image model called Nano Banana into three of its flagship products: Google Search, NotebookLM, and soon Google Photos. However, bringing photo editing capabilities right into Google Search makes many users feel. quite unreasonable.

According to Google's announcement, this feature is deployed through Google Lens - a familiar image search tool on Android and iOS. Users will see a new section called 'Create'. When taking a new photo or choosing an existing photo in the library, users can use Nano Banana to edit, transform and create images using AI right in the Google application.

This means that, in addition to using photos for searching, you can now use the same photo as a 'canvas' to create your own AI creations – without leaving the app.

However, many people think this feature is 'redundant'. Google Search is used to look up information or search for images, while photo editing is a job for applications like Google Photos or specialized software. Adding this feature to Search is like 'putting an ice cream stand in the middle of a hardware store' - interesting, but a bit out of place.

In another area, integrating Nano Banana into NotebookLM makes more sense. This AI model will make the Video Overviews feature more vivid and intuitive. It offers six new artistic visual styles, including watercolor and anime, making information synthesis more attractive and easier to understand. In addition, NotebookLM has added a new display format called 'Brief', which provides a concise visual summary for those who do not need detailed reports.

As for Google Photos, Nano Banana will officially appear in the coming weeks. Google has not revealed the details, but many predict that this will be a natural upgrade to the existing editing toolset – allowing you to turn photos into paintings, create new scenes, or restore old photos using AI.

Overall, although the idea of ​​bringing AI into search sounds quite bold, many people still think that Google is being a bit 'feature-hungry', making the search engine gradually become more cumbersome instead of focusing on the original convenience.

Kareem Winters

Update 14 October 2025