Google has opened public access to the SynthID Detector AI content detection tool

Google has provided all users with free access to the web service SynthID Detector, designed to check images, videos, and audio files for signs that they were generated or edited using artificial intelligence. To check a file, simply upload it to this website.

Key features of the service

• Support for popular formats and ecosystems: the tool recognizes media content created both by Google's own services and by solutions from partner companies, including OpenAI, Nvidia, and Kakao. To check a file, simply upload it to website.
• Global launch: previously, the tool was available only to a small group of journalists, researchers, and media professionals. The service is now available worldwide in English. In the future, the developers plan to add support for content created or modified using Apple Intelligence.

Scale of the technology

Google has been developing the SynthID project since 2023. To date, special digital watermarks have been applied to more than 180 billion images and videos, as well as audio recordings with a total duration of around 240,000 years. SynthID verification tools are also integrated into Google Search, the Chrome browser, and the Gemini chatbot, collectively processing more than 1 million queries every day.

Current limitations

The developers emphasize that SynthID Detector is not a universal AI content detector. The service only identifies materials containing a supported watermark, and in some cases such markers can be removed. They also note that the system cannot always accurately determine whether a file was generated entirely by a neural network or merely edited with its help.