Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google Docs got started using Gemini to generate images last year, delivering a desktop tool.
- This month, that’s expanding to Google Docs on Android.
- You’ll need an AI Pro, AI Ultra, or supported Business or Education plan to take advantage.
Generative AI is a reality, and while it’s probably too soon to categorically declare it “here to stay” (tastes do change, after all), this is one genie you’re going to have a bit of trouble getting back in the bottle. The controversy surrounding it isn’t likely to die down either, but many of us are starting to identify places where we find leaning on AI for some extra help to be acceptable — we may not want to go see a movie full of AI simulants, but asking AI to save us from digging through piles of clip art for the perfect image might make perfect sense.
Google got this effort started well over a year ago, first delivering an AI-powered tool in Docs for generating cover images. Then last fall, Google Docs expanded its use of Gemini and Imagen to be more general-purpose, letting you easily create pics to insert in your documents. That was pretty powerful, but at the time it only existed as a desktop solution.
Nine months later, and Google finally shares that it’s time for this tool to go mobile.
While the company’s only announcing the feature expansion today, it says that availability already started getting underway last Friday, with plans to get it out to everyone eligible within two weeks.
Who exactly is getting it? Well, there’s the rub, and unless you’re a Business or Gemini Education customer, access to image generation in Google Docs will be limited to users with Google’s premium AI Pro and AI Ultra plans. The good news there is that you may already have AI Pro if you picked up a Pixel 9 — and if you haven’t yet, it sounds like Google’s planning another free AI Pro deal for the Pixel 10.
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