Google just declared itself a contender in AI design at IO 2026
Quick Answer
At Google I/O 2026, Google unveiled Pics, an AI-driven design app for Google Workspace, enabling users to create and edit visuals effortlessly.
Quick Take
Powered by Nano Banana 2 and Gemini, Pics aims to compete with design tools like Canva, allowing easy modifications and collaboration for users ranging from educators to small business owners.
Key Points
- Pics allows users to generate designs using simple text prompts without advanced skills.
- The app features easy editing capabilities, enabling users to modify specific elements directly.
- Powered by Nano Banana 2, Pics supports precise text rendering and detailed visuals.
- The app will be available to Google AI Ultra subscribers this summer.
- Google aims to establish a foothold in the competitive AI design market.
📖 Reader Mode
~3 min readGoogle announced at its annual Google I/O event on Tuesday that it’s launching Pics, a new AI-powered design and image-generation app for Google Workspace. The tech giant says it designed the app to be accessible to everyone, from teachers to small business owners.
With Pics, users can generate everything from social media graphics and invitations to marketing materials and mock-ups using simple text prompts, without needing any editing skills or advanced tools. By giving users an easy way to generate visuals, Google is looking to take on popular design apps like Canva, as well as products from AI-native competitors like Claude Design from Anthropic. Google’s entry into the space signals that AI-powered design is fast becoming a core competitive arena — with real stakes for any business that depends on visual content.
The new app is launching to a group of testers at I/O and will be rolling out to Google AI Ultra subscribers this summer, Google says.
The company acknowledges that although AI models today can generate high-quality images, it’s still difficult to modify just one part of an image. If you get an image that’s almost perfect but want to change a small detail, you have to write an entirely new prompt and hope the AI doesn’t alter too much. That’s why Pics not only generates images but also makes them easily editable.
Users can enter a prompt, and Pics will generate what they need. Gemini powers the editing layer, making every element in a generated design or image fully adjustable. You can write a new prompt to make changes, but you can also simply click the part you want to change and leave a comment — much like leaving feedback in Google Docs.
You can also edit directly, without leaving a comment or writing a prompt. For example, if you create a birthday party invitation and want to change the time listed on the card, you can do so manually.
Pics is powered by Nano Banana 2, which Google says is a strong fit for the app because it supports precise text rendering, real-world knowledge, and detailed visual output. Pics is also built natively into Google Workspace, enabling visual collaboration across its apps.
Once you’re happy with your design, you can download, copy, print, or share it with others. You can also pass it to someone else for a final round of edits before it goes out, Google says.
Catch up on the rest of Google IO 2026’s big news
Google Search as you know it is over
Google updates Gemini app to take on ChatGPT and Claude
Google introduces Gemini Spark, a 24/7 agent assistant with Gmail integration
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Aisha is a consumer news reporter at TechCrunch. Prior to joining the publication in 2021, she was a telecom reporter at MobileSyrup. Aisha holds an honours bachelor’s degree from University of Toronto and a master’s degree in journalism from Western University.
You can contact or verify outreach from Aisha by emailing aisha@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at aisha_malik.01 on Signal.
— Originally published at techcrunch.com
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