Google unveils SynthID Detector to verify AI-generated content

Google has introduced the SynthID Detector portal, a tool designed to help users verify whether content has been generated using Google AI by detecting SynthID watermarks.

The SynthID Detector provides a centralised platform where users can upload images, audio, video, or text to determine if the material contains a SynthID watermark. The portal is intended to address growing concerns around content authenticity, context, and verification as generative AI technologies continue to develop and become more widespread.

Pushmeet Kohli, Vice President of Science and Strategic Initiatives at Google DeepMind, commented, "Advances in generative AI are making it possible for people to create content in entirely new ways — from text to high quality audio, images and videos. As these capabilities advance and become more broadly available, questions of authenticity, context and verification emerge."

Kohli added, "Today we're announcing SynthID Detector, a verification portal to quickly and efficiently identify AI-generated content made with Google AI. The portal provides detection capabilities across different modalities in one place and provides essential transparency in the rapidly evolving landscape of generative media. It can also highlight which parts of the content are more likely to have been watermarked with SynthID."

The SynthID watermarking technology was initially developed to embed imperceptible watermarks in AI-generated images to help mitigate misinformation and misattribution. These watermarks are designed to remain detectable even when the content is shared or altered. Google states that over 10 billion pieces of content have already been watermarked with SynthID since the system's launch. SynthID's coverage has since expanded beyond imagery to include text, audio, and video content generated by models such as Gemini, Imagen, Lyria, and Veo.

Kohli explained, "When we launched SynthID — a state-of-the-art tool that embeds imperceptible watermarks and enables the identification of AI-generated content — our aim was to provide a suite of novel technical solutions to help minimise misinformation and misattribution. SynthID not only preserves the content's quality, it acts as a robust watermark that remains detectable even when the content is shared or undergoes a range of transformations. While originally focused on AI-generated imagery only, we've since expanded SynthID to cover AI-generated text, audio and video content, including content generated by our Gemini, Imagen, Lyria and Veo models across Google. Over 10 billion pieces of content have already been watermarked with SynthID."

To use the SynthID Detector, users upload an image, audio track, video, or text generated using Google's tools to the portal. The system scans the content for SynthID watermarks, highlighting particular segments most likely to be watermarked. For audio, specific time segments are indicated, while images are displayed with areas that likely contain the watermark.

The operational process is described as follows: "Upload content: Upload an image, audio track, video or piece of text created using Google's AI tools. Scan for watermarks: The portal scans the uploaded media and detects whether the uploaded content, or specific portions of it, contain a SynthID watermark. View results: The portal will present the results and if a SynthID watermark is detected, highlight which parts of the content are more likely to have been watermarked."

The SynthID Detector is currently being rolled out to early testers before a wider release. Google notes that journalists, media professionals, and researchers are eligible to join a waitlist for early access to the portal.

Google has also made the SynthID text watermarking framework open source. This enables developers to integrate the technology into their own models and projects. In addition to open sourcing, Google has begun to build partnerships with other companies to expand the reach and adoption of SynthID.

Earlier this year, Google entered a partnership with NVIDIA to embed SynthID watermarks into videos generated by NVIDIA's CosmosTM preview NIM microservice. This collaboration increases the volume of content across the internet bearing the SynthID marker, broadening transparency beyond content produced solely by Google's AI models.

Google has also announced a new partnership with GetReal Security, a company specialising in content verification, to further the capabilities of SynthID detection by external parties. The partnership is intended to support the detection of SynthID watermarks across a wider range of media and stakeholders.

On the challenge of content transparency in the context of generative AI, Kohli stated, "Content transparency remains a complex challenge. To continue to inform and empower people engaging with AI-generated content, we believe it's vital to continue collaborating with the AI community and broaden access to transparency tools."

Kohli also acknowledged the contributions of Miguel de Andrés-Clavera and the Google Partner Innovation team in developing the SynthID Detector portal.