Google Expands Imagen 3 AI Image Generator to All US Users

Google Quietly Expands Imagen 3 Availability to U.S. Users

Google unveiled Veo, an AI generator, image creator, and music-making toolbox, at Google I/O in May. The video generator can transform text prompts into 1080p videos longer than 60 seconds. "The creative potential for generative AI is immense, and we can't wait to see how people around the world will bring their ideas to life with our new models and tools," Google said in May when it announced the tool. Back in May Google made the tool available to "select creators in private preview," now, after some updates and a name change over the past few months, it's making the tool available to everyone through its ImageFX platform, VentureBeat reports. Now called Imagen 3, Google describes the tool as " a latent diffusion model that generates high-quality images from text prompts." According to the company, "Imagen 3 is preferred over other state-of-the-art models at the time of evaluation." Users of the tool have remarked that the tool has improved word recognition and texture over previous models; however, some users have expressed frustration over the tool's censors. The tool is designed to block users from creating some videos as part of Google's focus on responsible AI creation; however, a number of users have reported that their prompts, which shouldn't be considered problematic, are also being blocked. In contrast, xAI also launched Grok-2 this week. The feature is available exclusively through Xs Premium subscription tiers and offers image generation with relatively no restrictions.

Google just opened its latest image generator to all US users

Imagen 3 is already used in the Pixel Studio app on Pixel 9 phones. Google first revealed the Imagen 3 text-to-image generator back in May. The tool was restricted to the Vertex AI development platform and a private preview. Fortunately, the company is now expanding access. The search giant quietly announced that Imagen 3 is now available to all US users (h/t: VentureBeat). You can try the updated image generator via Google's AI Test Kitchen. Google claims that Imagen 3 is its "highest-quality" image generator yet. The company specifically asserts that generated pictures offer better detail, richer lighting, and fewer artifacts. The search giant also said it "significantly improved" the tool's ability to understand prompts. It adds that Imagen 3 will be available in multiple versions that are tweaked for specific tasks, such as quick sketches and high-resolution pictures. Imagen 3 powers the brand-new Pixel Studio app on Pixel 9 series phones. The app offers text-to-image generation capabilities as well as picture editing powered by on-device AI. Nevertheless, you won't need to buy a Pixel 9 phone to try out Imagen 3.

You Can Now Try Google's Imagen 3 Generator

Google has opened up access to Imagen 3, its latest AI image generator capable of creating more detailed images from text prompts, to everyone in the United States. The updated tool leverages a latent diffusion model and offers such improvements over Imagen 2 as finer detail, better lighting, and fewer artifacts. This is Google's highest-quality image generator yet, and you can try it by visiting Google's AI Test Kitchen website, clicking "Sign in with Google," and using your Google Account credentials to log in. Folks who live outside the U.S. can bypass geo-restrictions by using a VPN. Imagen 3 has improved prompt understanding. The above image was created with a Google-provided example: "Photo of a felt puppet diorama scene of a tranquil nature scene of a secluded forest clearing with a large friendly, rounded robot is rendered in a risograph style. An owl sits on the robots shoulders and a fox at its feet. Soft washes of color, 5 color, and a light-filled palette create a sense of peace and serenity, inviting contemplation and the appreciation of natural beauty." In the future, the company will provide Imagen 3 versions tailored for specific tasks like creating quick sketches, outputting high-resolution images, and so forth. The company also published a research paper detailing the technology. However, peopl posted mixed feedback on Reddit, with many taking issue with heavy moderation. Don't try prompting Imagen 3 to create images featuring Taylor Swift or Super Mario, because it ignores requests for public figures, weapons, and copyrighted characters. Google admitted to leveraging "extensive filtering and data labeling to minimize harmful content in datasets and reduced the likelihood of harmful outputs." Google announced Imagen during I/O in May, but a few people could use the tool in private preview restricted to select members of the Vertex AI platform. Google previously had an image generation model within Gemini, but removed it due to poor reception. Even though Imagen 3 employs Google's latest and greatest AI models to generate realistic video clips out of text prompts, it doesn't hold a candle to OpenAI's much more impressive Sora. To assuage concerns regarding deepfakes, Imagen uses Google's SynthID technology to apply cryptographic watermarks. Another concern is among the creator community, as people who create visuals for a living are increasingly seeing image generators stealing their hard work to train their algorithms. Because Google's generative AI indemnification policy does not cover text-to-live images, you really need to think twice before using Imagen 3 images in commercial work because doing so might expose you to potential copyright claims. Source: HuggingFace via VentureBeat

Google just released the newest version of its AI image generator

The latest version of Google's text-to-image model is now available to the masses. Teased back in May at Google I/O, Imagen 3 is the tech giant's most advanced AI generator that rivals other models like Midjourney, DALL-E 3, and X's very uncensored Grok-2. Speaking of which, Google has taken a different approach than Grok-2, which has swiftly become known for generating copyrighted images and deepfakes of public figures. Unlike Elon Musk's AI model, Google says it "used extensive filtering and data labeling to minimize harmful content in datasets and reduced the likelihood of harmful outputs." Images created by Imagen 3 also have Google's SynthID digital watermark for identifying the image's provenance. Safety protocols aside, Google says Imagen 3 has greater versatility and understanding of prompts, higher quality images, and better text rendering -- text being a pesky ongoing problem for all AI image models. If you'd like to see for yourself and test the boundaries of what Google deems offensive or inappropriate, Imagen 3 is available now via ImageFX and VertexAI. Soon, Imagen 3 will become available throughout Google AI features in Workspace and Gemini on the web and mobile.

Google just rolled out its answer to Midjourney - here's how to try the AI image generator

The best AI image generators have been in the news recently, but not always for the right reasons - with Elon Musk's Grok-2 AI producing all sorts of controversy over its lack of guardrails. Google probably wants to shift the conversation in a more positive direction, as the company has just expanded access to its Imagen 3 generator to everyone in the US, massively ramping up who can use the AI tool. Google's accompanying research paper describes Imagen 3 as "a latent diffusion model that generates high quality images from text prompts," with the paper adding that "Imagen 3 is preferred over other state-of-the-art models at the time of evaluation." It can be used to whip up images based on text entered by the user, with some restrictions on offensive or illegal content, making it a rival to popular alternatives like Midjourney. The tool was originally launched in May 2024 at the Google I/O event, but at that time it was limited to chosen users of Google's Vertex AI. Now, anyone in the U.S. can try it out if they like, suggesting that Google is much more confident in its tool's ability to create reliable images and avoid some of the problems that have plagued AI image generators for so long. So far, it seems that the reaction to Imagen 3 has been mixed. Several users have noticed that it seems to be much more sensitive to user prompts than before, censoring words that might not have been blocked in Imagen 2. For instance, one user on Reddit said: "Really have to put in extra work to achieve what I used to get and a random word like "sock" or "water" will trigger the censorship filter which is far more sensitive to benign words." For another, Imagen 3 refused to draw innocent-sounding ideas such as a cyborg or a man crossing his arms. There are positives, though, with one of the aforementioned users noting its high-quality output and "amazing texture and word recognition." If you want to take Imagen 3 for a spin, you'll first need to be based in the U.S. to gain access. If you are, you can head to Google's AI Test Kitchen website and sign in with your Google account. Once that's done, you should be able to start using the new image-generation model. User reports that Imagen 3 is more restrictive than its predecessor are a useful illustration of the current state of AI image generators. A huge amount of controversy has been created by these tools in recent months, and it sometimes seems that not a week goes by without some AI-generated image stirring up the internet's emotions. The latest culprit has been Elon Musk's Grok-2 AI. The tool - which is limited to premium users of X (formerly Twitter), was just updated to its second version and generates images using the open-source Flux. Users found it had very few limits on what could be created, leading to people drawing up pictures of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris piloting a plane on 9/11, or clearly copyrighted images being generated with seemingly no push back from Grok. With its restrictive perspective on image generation, it seems that Google has set Imagen 3 to err on the side of caution for now. Whether that will change as the model is tweaked and refined remains to be seen, but for with far more people now able to access it, perhaps we won't have to wait long to see how far its boundaries can be pushed.

Google's AI image generator Imagen 3 rolls out across the US

There are reports that Imagen 3 is letting users create images that resemble copyrighted characters, but this issue is far less severe than Grok's lack of guardrails. Google has shared the latest version of its Imagen 3 text-to-image generator across the US, letting more users test out its capabilities. A report by Venturebeat first reported that Google had quietly rolled out its latest version of Imagen through its ImageFX platform. Google DeepMind also shared a research paper of the AI model and said it is the company's "best diffusion model for text-to-image generation". DeepMind said Imagen 3 is able to generate images with "better detail, richer lighting, and fewer distracting artifacts" than its predecessors. Google first released Imagen in May 2022 to compete with OpenAI's image creator - Dall E - and has been upgrading its capabilities as the market competition ramps up. Users have been sharing their experiences with Imagen 3 online, with one user praising the quality but claiming it has more errors than the Imagen 2 model. Other users criticised the level of censorship built into the model's guardrails. The criticisms against Imagen 3's guardrails comes the same week that xAI released a text-to-image generator upgrade for Grok. This model appears to have very limited guardrails, as images were quickly shared of copyrighted characters and public figures holding assault rifles or committing murder. But Imagen 3 does not appear to have perfect guardrails when it comes to copyright protection. A report by The Verge claims the guardrails seem flexible, as it can be quite easy to generate images that resemble characters such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario and Mickey Mouse. Meanwhile, advanced text-to-image generators create concerns around the growing sophistication of deepfakes. With the rise of this technology, experts believe AI could be used to influence elections and it is unclear if governments or tech giants can deal with the threat. Earlier this month, a group of US senators introduced a No Fakes Act to make the creation of voice and visual likenesses of people, such as AI deepfakes, illegal without their consent. Find out how emerging tech trends are transforming tomorrow with our new podcast, Future Human: The Series. Listen now on Spotify, on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.

Google releases text-to-image AI generator tool 'Imagen 3' in US: Report

Google has launched the latest version of its AI text-to-image generator, Imagen 3, to users in the US, according to technology website VentureBeat. The image generator tool is available through Google's ImageFX platform and can be accessed on Google's AI Test Kitchen. Imagen 3 was first announced during Google I/O in May and was previously available to select Vertex AI users only.

Anyone With a Google Account Can Try Google's Latest AI Image Generator Right Now

Google's latest AI image generation model, Imagen 3, is now publicly available in the United States, and all you need to try it out is a free Google account. As spotted by VentureBeat, the company quietly opened up its model this week, publishing its research in a paper on Tuesday. It comes two months after the company first announced the new model at Google I/O back in May. In a post on Hugging Face, a machine learning platform, Google researchers said, "We introduce Imagen 3, a latent diffusion model that generates high quality images from text prompts. We describe our quality and responsibility evaluations. Imagen 3 is preferred over other state-of-the-art (SOTA) models at the time of evaluation. In addition, we discuss issues around safety and representation, as well as methods we used to minimize the potential harm of our models." From some initial amateurish tests on my end, the model seems pretty solid. When asking for photorealistic images, the results are relatively high quality, with some decent stabs at realism that could fool people on first glance. (I was particularly impressed with the quality of images when I prompted the model to create a 35mm film look.) Imagen 3 also highlights particular parts of the prompt that affected the output, so you can adjust those if you don't like the way the image came out. However, Imagen 3's offerings still display the telltale signs of AI-generated images. In some photos, hands have too many fingers, faces are distorted, and text doesn't make sense. (Although the model was able to reproduce the "Coca-Cola" and "Canon" logos with trademark-infringing accuracy.) Google isn't the only tech company to release a new image model this week. X recently pushed a new beta for Grok, the company's AI chatbot, and with it, an image generator built with seemingly very few restrictions. Users (specifically, Lifehacker's Michelle Ehrhardt) have used Grok to generate everything from Taylor Swift in a MAGA hat to Pikachu holding an AK-47. Imagen 3, on the other hand, displays obvious guardrails. When I attempt to prompt Google's image generator with anything controversial, it stops itself and politely directs me to Imagen 3's FAQ to understand why my prompt wasn't appropriate. It also refuses to generate copyrighted content, but can be tricked into producing it with the right prompts. As noted above, I was able to generate logos, and was even able to get it to spit out trademarked characters like Mario and Pikachu, even if I couldn't get them to engage in a gunfight. Google's new AI image generator is free to try for any U.S. user with a Google Account. To do so, head to ImageFX in Google's AI Test Kitchen. Sign in with your Google Account, then get prompting.

Google opens access to Imagen 3, its latest model for AI image generation

After it was announced earlier this year, Google has opened access to Imagen 3, its new latent diffusion model used for generating images from text prompts. Spotted by VentureBeat, Google recently published a research paper regarding the launch of Imagen 3 in the US. The company touts Imagen 3's methods of minimizing the potential harm of its image generation through AI models. We introduce Imagen 3, a latent diffusion model that generates high quality images from text prompts. We describe our quality and responsibility evaluations. Imagen 3 is preferred over other state-of-the-art (SOTA) models at the time of evaluation. In addition, we discuss issues around safety and representation, as well as methods we used to minimize the potential harm of our models. The focus on "safety and representation" manifests itself through Google's image generator denying some prompts. This comes as Elon Musk's xAI has launched image generation within Grok-2, which is almost completely unrestricted and has seen countless controversial images created and shared across social media. When it was announced at Google I/O in May, Google called Imagen 3 its "highest quality" image generator to date, with improvements to how it renders text as well as limiting visual artifacts that are common among AI-generated images. Google also announced "Veo" at I/O, a generative AI video tool that has yet to launch publicly.