Google will let users connect their photos to the Gemini chatbot and Nano Banana

In this articleGoogle is letting the Gemini AI chatbot connect to personal photos with the Nano Banana image generation tool.Google said Thursday it will allow users to connect their Personal Intelligence, an AI feature that connects Google apps for personalized answers, with its Gemini chatbot. By opting in, Nano Banana can create personal images based on a user's private Google Photos as opposed to manually uploading images to the chatbot. Users can ask Gemini to "create a claymation image of me and my family enjoying our favorite activity" and Gemini can generate that specific image for you automatically, the company said in its blog post announcement.Nano Banana was a hit when it launched last year, as people began uploading personal photos to create digital miniature figurines of themselves. It was so popular that it overloaded the company's infrastructure, forcing Google to place temporary limits on usage to ease the burden on its custom-designed chips called tensor processing units. It also pushed the Gemini app to the number one spot on Apple's App Store, de-throning OpenAI's ChatGPT.Despite the popularity, the ability to directly connect to a user's photo library represents a bigger step in the AI chatbot link to private information.Users will have to opt-in to Personal Intelligence in order to connect Google apps to Gemini and its Nano Banana feature, the company said. The personalized image creation will roll out to paid subscribers in the next few days.The company said Thursday that the Gemini app does not directly train its models on users' private Google Photos library, but does use "limited info, like specific prompts in Gemini and the model's responses."Gemini can use information about people labeled in Google Photos, according to the company. "Now your inner circle can become the stars of your images, whether you want a result that feels pulled straight from your life or one that takes your imagination a bit further," the company said.The company said that because personalized image generation is a brand-new experience, Gemini "might not always pick the exact photo or detail you had in mind on the first try."The mixing of its products shows the company is trying to create an increasingly personal AI link with its users. It allows user data and preferences to shape not just text responses but also visual output. In January, Google launched Personal Intelligence. Nano Banana 2 launched in February, and the company said it has increased speed, enhanced text renderings and follows instructions more precisely.Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inboxGet this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.© 2026 Versant Media, LLC.

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