Google Brings SynthID-Powered Deepfake AI Video Detection Tool to Gemini App

Google added a new tool to Gemini on Thursday, allowing users to more reliably detect the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in videos. The Mountain View-based tech is now letting users upload a video file to its chatbot and check if it was generated or edited using the company's AI models and tools. This capability will be available globally to all users. The new tool's integration comes just a month after the tech giant added a similar detection feature for AI-generated images.

Google Makes Detecting Deepfake Videos Easier

In a blog post, Google announced the new tool in the Gemini app and website. Calling it an AI video verification tool, the tech giant highlighted that it is in the process of expanding its content transparency tools. As AI models get better at generating and editing realistic images and videos, the concerns around deepfakes have also increased.

To tackle the issue, Google introduced SynthID, an imperceptible digital watermarking technology for Google AI products, in 2023. Over the years, the company has improved the technology to apply the watermark to AI-generated text, images, audio, and videos. Apart from adding watermarks, it can also detect it in any AI-generated content that has been created or modified using the company's tools, even if it has been cropped, copied, or externally edited.

At first, its access was limited to academicians and select partners, but the company has been rolling out the detection tool to more users lately. In November, Google added a SynthID-based image verification tool to Gemini. And now, it has rolled out the video detection tool.

To check whether a video has used AI, users can upload it to the Gemini app or website and ask the chatbot, “Was it created or edited using AI?” Gemini then analyses the audio and video tracks separately to check for the SynthID watermark in them. For instance, a video where the audio has been modified using AI, Gemini will respond with something like, “SynthID detected within the audio between 10-20 secs. No SynthID detected in the visuals.”

There are limits to this tool. Google said users can currently upload a video with a maximum size of 100MB and a maximum duration of 90 seconds. Files longer or larger than that are currently not supported. The tool is available in all languages and countries supported by Gemini.