Google's Veo 3 Powers The Photo-To-Video Feature In Google Photos

Google updated the Google Photos experience a few months ago to add a new "Create" tab that gives users fast access to new AI editing abilities, including a tool that lets them turn photos into videos. On Wednesday, the company announced a big update for Google Photos, adding support for Veo 3, Google's best AI video generation model. Veo 3 will handle photo-to-video edits in Google Photos, which means users will get higher-quality clips than before. Initially, the older Veo 2 video generation model handled these animation effects.

The upgrade is logical, considering that Google first brought its Veo 3 photo-to-video AI editing tool to Gemini before the Google Photos received it. The Gemini feature uses Veo 3 and a text prompt to animate photos. The photo-to-video feature in Google Photos isn't as complex as in Gemini. You can use the Create tab to add motion to still images, but you don't get to input a text prompt. Instead, you can pick from two options, "Subtle movement" and "I'm feeling lucky." The AI will then add motion to the images without offering more granular control.

Google explained in a blog post that users will get a limited number of Veo 3 photo-to-video generations each day. Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers will have higher limits. Additionally, the Create tab, which is now available to users in the U.S., will support a few other AI editing capabilities.

The Create tab also includes the following features: Remix, Collage, Highlight, Cinematic, and Animations. With Remix, you can reimagine any photo in a different style with the help of AI. The available options are anime, comic, sketch, or even 3D animation. Like the photo-to-video feature, you'll have a limited number of AI edits each day, with limits increasing for Google AI plan subscribers.

The Collage feature should be useful for sticking multiple images together. You can choose a desired layout, and the AI will do the stitching. The Collage editor also supports additional editing features to let you adjust the brightness and add filters. The feature is great to use for creating social media content where you want to show several images side by side.

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The Highlight feature is similar to Collage, but the output is different. Rather than stitching together a few images into a single picture, Highlight creates a video out of images and photos you might have saved in Google Photos. It all starts with a search, like typing "Paris" in the app. The AI will pick the relevant clips and images, add music effects, and create a video.

Cinematic photos turn your images into 3D versions, similar to dynamic wallpapers or auto-generated memories in Google Photos. The feature now lets you apply the 3D effect to any photograph. Finally, the Animation feature uses AI to create GIFs from multiple still photos.