Pic Wisely
A picture is worth a thousand words, but what if that image isn’t real? We’ve all seen headline-making fake-outs like the puffy-coated Pope, but it’s not just high-profile AI images that sneak into search results.
To get ahead of faux photos, Google is rolling out a new feature — About this image — to provide searchers more access to the information behind images. The closer look will include:
History: Users can see when an image or similar visuals were first seen by Google Search, which can assist with determining if a source has the rights to use it.
Online Descriptions: Searchers are able to see what news, fact-checking sites, and other outlets are saying about an image, and how they’re using it.
Metadata: When available, image metadata will be included. Keywords, captions, and other tags can be key indicators of a photo's history. And all Google AI-generated images will have a tag in the original file.
Even with these new tools, AI implementations continue to grow faster than any regulations governing their usage. Marketers need to be diligent about using the available resources and staying on the lookout for fishy content. And protect your own visual content by including detailed metadata.
TL;DR: Google rolls out a new feature to help marketers spot — and avoid — fake images.
