Google Earth quickly added and removed AI image generation for obvious reasons

Q: Why did Google remove the AI image generation feature from Google Earth on July 31?

Google removed the feature because people were using the AI to create realistic, potentially misleading images from satellite views, there were effectively no restrictions on what could be generated or where. Google said users shared generated imagery that appeared to violate its policies and it needed to roll the feature back while it implements stronger guardrails, even though generated images were watermarked and not visible in the main Google Earth experience.

Q: Did Google provide any examples of use cases for the Nano Banana feature, and why were those examples criticized?

Yes. Google highlighted benign examples such as making the Colosseum look brand-new or showing what a massive shopping mall would look like on an empty lot. Those examples were criticized as tone deaf because they downplayed the obvious risks of letting anyone generate images from satellite imagery, while reporters showed the feature could be used to create harmful or misleading images like fatal car crashes, fabricated nuclear power plants, refugee scenes, or the White House as a battlefield, and there appeared to be no restrictions on generation.

Q: What did Google say about plans for the feature after removing it?

Google said it rolled the feature back in Google Earth while it works on implementing stronger guardrails. It also noted generated images were watermarked as AI-generated and did not appear in the main Google Earth experience, and indicated there are plans to bring the feature back sometime in the future.

Q: What specific policy or safety issues did observers cite when demonstrating realistic fake images from the tool?

Observers demonstrated that the tool could generate realistic fake images depicting a fatal car crash in Amsterdam, a nuclear power plant in Iran, refugees at a border, and the White House as a battlefield, raising concerns those images could be used to spread misinformation and blur the line between real and fake. Google said shared screenshots of generated imagery appeared to violate its policies, prompting removal while it works on stronger guardrails.

AI-generated images, powered by Nano Banana 2, were added to Google Earth on July 30. The feature was then removed on July 31, with Google apologizing.

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Kosta Andreadis

Senior Editor

Published Aug 3, 2026 3:27 AM CDT

1 minute & 15 seconds read time

TL;DR: Google added an AI image generator (Nano Banana 2) to Google Earth on July 30, which let users create realistic images from satellite views; after examples showed potentially harmful, unrestricted content, Google removed the feature on July 31, apologized, and said it will add stronger guardrails before reintroducing it.

Voice: Kosta AndreadisSpeed

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On July 30, Google added a new feature to its expansive and invaluable reference tool, Google Earth, that was subsequently removed on July 31. The feature was AI-generated images, powered by Nano Banana 2, that let anyone take real-world satellite images and then use those as a basis for creating anything they could think of.

As reported by Digital Digging with Henk van Ess, he was able to create images of a fatal car crash in the streets of Amsterdam, a nuclear power plant in Iran, refugees at a border, and other images that could then be used to spread misinformation or simply add to the general feeling that AI is making it increasingly harder to differentiate between what's real and what's fake. With the tool, other publications were able to create realistic images showcasing the White House as a battlefield, and other dramatically fake images.

Google's own announcement on the addition was a little tone deaf too, as although each generated image contains a SynthID digital watermark, its own examples highlighted non-essential things like making the Colosseum in Italy look brand-new, or showing what a massive shopping mall would look like on an empty lot. Stuff that makes the obvious and inherent risk of being able to create any image you want from satellite imagery via a simple prompt a very real problem to solve.

Read more: Gaming stocks tumble after Google shows Project Genie's real-time AI-generated 3D worlds

And on that note, it seems that there were no restrictions at all on what could be generated or where, which is why the feature was removed so soon after being deployed.

"We know that people uniquely trust Google Earth for a reliable view of the world," the company writes in an update on the announcement post for Nano Banana coming to Google Earth. "We've seen geospatial professionals using this feature for a range of useful purposes; however, we've also seen people sharing screenshots of generated imagery that appear to violate our policies. So we're rolling back this feature in Google Earth while we work on implementing stronger guardrails. It's important to note that generated images didn't appear in the main Google Earth experience for others to see and were watermarked as AI-generated."

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