Google seems to be bringing back the ability for Google Search to generate images on the fly within Google Search. Google initially announced this back in July of this year and then paused the test the next month after some controversy. Now, it seems to be coming back for some searchers.
Derek Hobson spotted this on LinkedIn and I am able to replicate this on some browsers, not all.
Here is what I can do:
But in other browsers, the AI Overview from Google tells me "I cannot generate images directly."
I wonder if this is related to the Gemini 4 Hydrogen update in Google Search - probably is?
Here is Derek Hobson's example:
When I tried it, it came out more like Wil:
Back in July, when Google announced this, Google said, "To help bring those unique ideas to life, we’re bringing image generation directly into AI Overviews in Search." When Google paused it in August, Robby Stein from Google wrote, "This was a small experiment we're no longer running. FYI this is not the Nano Banana feature we announced in July, which only triggers when users explicitly ask to generate an image."
I am not sure I like Google Search making up AI images for me on the fly...
Forum discussion at LinkedIn.
