Google Makes SynthID AI Detector Publicly Available

Google has been watermarking its content for years, with over 180 billion images and videos bearing the mark. This number is staggering, especially when compared to just a few months ago, when it stood at around 10 billion pieces of content in May 2025. The company’s efforts to track AI-generated content have not gone unnoticed, as researchers, AI companies, and lawmakers all agree that AI watermarking technology has its limitations.

Users can now access the SynthID detector, which allows them to identify certain types of AI-generated content created by Google or its affiliated partners, including OpenAI and Nvidia. This tool will also be available for use alongside other built-in verification features in Search, the Gemini app, and Chrome. However, it’s essential to note that the SynthID system can only detect if content was generated using SynthID-enabled systems, but does not reveal other vital information such as creator identity or edit history.

The development of AI watermarking technology is a response to the growing concern about the spread of AI-generated content online. As AI-created material becomes increasingly difficult for humans to discern, Google’s efforts aim to provide some clarity in this area. However, experts warn that text watermarking and detection remain early technologies with significant limitations, particularly when it comes to edited or human-inputted content.

Google has been working on the SynthID system since 2023, initially launching it for internal use before making it available to media professionals two years later. The company’s efforts have not gone unnoticed by other AI companies, as OpenAI recently rolled out text watermarking in the EU and Anthropic pledged to do the same within the bloc from its newer models. According to testing, detection rates plummet from close to 100% when generated texts are unedited to less than 20% when one-quarter of the words are changed.