Google Opens SynthID Detector Worldwide to Help Users Check AI-Generated Media

Google has widened public access to SynthID Detector, giving people around the world a way to examine supported images, videos and audio files for signs that they were created with artificial intelligence.

The tool is now available globally in English. It checks for SynthID watermarks placed in media produced by compatible AI systems from Google and participating technology companies. Google DeepMind Vice-President of Science and Strategic Initiatives Pushmeet Kohli announced the expansion in a company blog post dated October 7, 2026.

SynthID was introduced in 2023 as a watermarking technology designed to place markers inside AI-generated media without visibly changing the content. Google says the system has since been used across more than 180 billion images and videos, in addition to an amount of audio equivalent to 240,000 years.

An earlier version of SynthID Detector was introduced in 2025 with media professionals as its initial audience. The latest expansion removes that narrower access model, allowing ordinary users to submit supported media for examination. The detector can be used with images, video clips and audio files rather than being limited to one type of content.

According to Kohli, the service can identify media produced using supported AI tools from Google and partners that include OpenAI, NVIDIA and Kakao. Apple is also expected to become part of the supported ecosystem. The detector's results depend on the presence of compatible SynthID markings, so the source does not describe it as a universal test for every piece of AI-generated content on the internet.

Google positioned the tool as part of a broader effort to give users more information about the origin of digital media. The company already provides related verification features through Google Search, the Gemini application and the Chrome browser. Kohli said those built-in tools collectively handle more than one million requests on a typical day.

The expansion comes as synthetic media becomes more common across online platforms and users increasingly encounter AI-created pictures, recordings and videos alongside human-produced material. Google's stated aim is to make it easier for people to assess content with additional context before deciding how much confidence to place in what they see or hear.

SynthID Detector therefore works as a verification layer for content created within participating AI systems rather than as proof that every unmarked file is human-made. Its wider release gives the public access to a technology that had previously been offered in a more limited form to professional users.