Transform Any Place With Nano Banana in Google Earth
Google, Thursday, July 30th, 2026
Google added and then rolled back AI image generation in Google Earth after policy-violating shares surfaced.
Google introduced a feature letting users generate custom images from Google Earth satellite, aerial, and 3D imagery to visualize how a location could be redesigned.
On July 31, Google rolled the feature back, noting that while geospatial professionals were using it for legitimate purposes, people were also sharing screenshots of generated imagery that appeared to violate its policies.
Google stated generated images never appeared in the main Google Earth experience for others to see and were watermarked as AI generated.
The company said it will work on stronger guardrails before reinstating it. The episode illustrates the tension between generative features and a product users trust for factual representation.