Google I/O 2026: Project Genie Brings Street View-Powered Interactive AI Worlds

Google I/O 2026 has kicked off with a series of AI-driven announcements, introducing new updates across search, Android, creative tools, and immersive experiences. Among the many features launched at the event, one standout addition is Project Genie’s new Street View-powered capability that transforms real-world locations into interactive AI-generated environments.

 

TL;DR

 

• Google expands Project Genie access to AI Ultra subscribers globally.
• Project Genie can now turn Street View locations into interactive AI worlds.
• Users can reimagine real places with custom styles and AI-generated characters.

Google is expanding access to Project Genie, its experimental AI world-generation tool, while adding a new feature powered by Street View. The update lets users create interactive virtual environments based on real-world locations, giving AI systems and users a more realistic and creative way to explore digital spaces.

Project Genie is built on Google’s general-purpose world model called Genie, which can generate interactive environments for research and simulation. Google says the model has already helped researchers train AI agents in complex virtual settings and has also been used by Waymo to simulate realistic road environments.

The latest upgrade connects Genie with Google Street View imagery, allowing generated environments to be grounded in real places. Users can now choose a location in the U.S. through a Maps pin inside Project Genie and apply different visual styles to transform the environment.




For example, Google says users can imagine the Golden Gate Bridge underwater by applying the “Ocean World” style or recreate the Fort Worth Stockyards in Texas as a 1920s black-and-white film setting with saloons, vintage cars, and trading posts.

Users can also customize characters inside these generated worlds by describing figures such as animals, comic book heroes, or claymation-style monsters. Genie then creates an interactive environment tied to Street View imagery while adapting it to the selected theme. Google noted that the feature is powered by Maps Imagery Grounding, the same technology developers use to create AI-generated visuals with Street View data.
 
The new Street View grounding capability is currently available for locations in the U.S., with broader geographic support planned over time. Google is also expanding Project Genie access globally for eligible Google AI Ultra subscribers aged 18 and above. The AI Ultra subscription is priced at $200 per month.

Despite the expansion, Google says Project Genie remains an experimental prototype within Google Labs. The company added that it is still improving the system to make generated environments “sharper and more accurate” as development continues.