At Google I/O 2026, Google announced Pics, a new AI-powered image creation and editing app for Google Workspace, as it looks to make visual design easier for everyday users, small businesses, teachers, marketers and teams that do not use advanced editing tools.
TL;DR
- Google unveiled Pics, an AI-powered design and image editing app for Workspace.
- Pics can generate and edit visuals using prompts, direct edits and object-level controls.
- The app is launching with Trusted Testers and will roll out globally to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers this summer.
- Google is also expanding AI creativity across Stitch, Pomelli, Flow and Flow Music.
Google Pics Enters The AI Design Race
Google announced Pics at its annual I/O 2026 event, positioning the app as a simple design and image-generation tool that can create social media graphics, invitations, marketing materials and mock-ups using text prompts. According to TechCrunch, Google’s move puts it in competition with popular design platforms such as Canva and newer AI-native rivals such as Anthropic’s Claude Design.
However, Pics is not just another text-to-image generator.
Google says the app is built for creative control, especially in cases where users generate an image that is close to what they want but needs one small change. Instead of restarting with a fresh prompt, users can select elements, leave comments, edit directly or make manual changes inside the design.
Pics is powered by Google’s latest Nano Banana model and treats each part of an image as an individual object rather than a flat, static image. This means users can move, resize, transform or edit specific elements, such as changing the color of a sweater or modifying text inside a flyer, without disrupting the rest of the image.
“Creating with AI should feel like creative direction, not a roll of the dice,” Google said in its Workspace announcement.
Pics will also integrate with Google Workspace apps, beginning with Slides and Drive, and will offer shareable canvases for real-time collaboration. Google says the tool is available now to a limited group of Trusted Testers and will roll out globally this summer to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers, as well as in preview for Google Workspace business customers.
Google’s Bigger AI Design Push
Pics is only one part of Google’s bigger AI creativity plan.
At I/O 2026, Google also announced new real-time design capabilities for Stitch, its AI design tool from Google Labs. Stitch now allows users to guide and reflow layouts while it builds ideas, using text prompts, voice, codebases or design files. Users can generate shareable links through Google AI Studio, export screens into Google Antigravity or publish to the web through Netlify.
Google also expanded Pomelli, a Google Labs tool for small and medium-sized businesses, with new agentic capabilities. The Pomelli Agent can help businesses build a brand identity, generate brand books with images, fonts and colors, and design a complete website in a few clicks.
Then comes Google Flow. Google said Flow has expanded from an AI filmmaking tool into a broader AI creative studio, now available in more than 140 countries. With Gemini Omni Flash, Flow users can blend real-world inspiration with generated content, preserve character consistency across scenes and work conversationally with an AI creative agent.
Why It Matters
Google’s entry into AI design is not happening in isolation.
At I/O 2026, CEO Sundar Pichai said Google is now processing more than 3.2 quadrillion tokens per month across its surfaces, up 7x year-over-year. He also said more than 8.5 million developers are building with Google’s models monthly, while over 50 billion images have been generated using Nano Banana image-generation models.
That scale gives Google a major advantage, especially if Pics becomes another natural layer inside Workspace, where more than 4 billion users already rely on apps such as Gmail, Docs and Drive.
In short, Google is no longer just helping users write, search or code with AI.
It now wants to help them design, edit, brand, build and publish too.
