New Google image and video models target AI creativity

Google announced the general availability of Nano Banana 2 Lite and the public preview of Gemini Omni Flash, new generative AI models for image and video creation, now available in the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform. The models aim to provide faster, more cost-efficient creative tools, with early testers including Adobe, Klarna, and Figma. The announcement follows Google's recent $75 million investment in film studio A24, sparking controversy in Hollywood.

Following the rising popularity of its Nano Banana image model https://www.thedeepview.com/articles/google-s-nano-banana-2-solves-a-key-ai-flaw , Google wants to keep the momentum rolling. On Tuesday, the company announced two new additions to its generative AI creative suite: the general availability of Nano Banana 2 Lite and the public preview of Gemini Omni Flash. The models, now available in the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, aim to give users more speed, control and cost efficiency in their creative work, the company said in its announcement. Here's the breakdown: Nano Banana 2 Lite, or Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite Image, is the fastest and most cost-efficient image generation and editing model in the Nano Banana family. The model can generate an image in as little as four seconds, and rapidly iterate design concepts or image edits. The model also features significant improvements in visual quality, including better world knowledge, character consistency, and localized text by region. Gemini Omni Flash offers high-quality video generation and conversational editing, embedded directly into media tools and apps. The model also includes multimodal outputs, improved simulation and physics understanding, and improved text generation. The company said that support for audio references, video references, last frame, scene extension and higher resolutions will be available soon. Google said that several companies are already testing both Nano Banana 2 Lite and Gemini Omni Flash, including Adobe, Klarna, Picsart, Genspark, Figma, Manus and others. Itay Schiff, Figma Weave co-founder and creative director, said in a statement that Nano Banana 2 Lite is "ideal for rapid iteration while staying in the creative flow." Nishant Tahilramani, creative director at Invideo, an AI video platform that tested the model, said in a statement that the "sheer range" of Gemini Omni Flash caught his attention. "The VFX capabilities surprised me, and looking at it as a producer, that brings in some very interesting possibilities … You take the crews you have always worked with in the live-action world, and you bring the breadth of what AI can do now onto the same set.” The models are Google's latest foray into the creative fields. Last week, the company's AI unit, Google DeepMind, announced a partnership and a $75 million investment in A24 https://x.com/GoogleDeepMind/status/2069066675895337405 , the film studio responsible for Backrooms, Hereditary and Midsommar, a decision that stoked the ire of fans https://kotaku.com/a24s-bad-excuse-for-its-controversial-google-ai-partnership-isnt-impressing-fans-wed-rather-have-a-seat-at-the-table-2000711181 and Hollywood professionals alike. "This partnership exists because we want to dictate what tools get built for artists, and so they have a voice in shaping them rather than having tools handed to them," Sophia Shin, an A24 spokesperson, told Wired https://www.wired.com/story/a24-knows-youre-mad-about-the-google-ai-collab/ . Our Deeper View As it stands, AI is yanking creative industries in two directions https://www.thedeepview.com/articles/ai-film-festival-showed-tsunami-hitting-hollywood . There's a large contingent fighting against it for reasons of copyright and creative integrity, and there's also a group that believes the tech can democratize the arts and give more power to hobbyists. With these new models and its industry partnerships, Google is walking straight into the firestorm. The thing that could give it more legitimacy in the creative industries, however, is its SynthID, Google DeepMind's watermarking system for synthetic content. With AI-generated content growing more lifelike and realistic by the day, people will increasingly be unable to tell the difference between authentic and synthetic content. However, if Google's tools, whether it be the models themselves or its synthetic content watermarking platform, become an entertainment industry standard, the industry and the population at large may stand a better chance at distinguishing real from fake.