Gemini's smartest image feature is no longer locked behind a paywall

Google is expanding one of Gemini’s more personal AI features to a much wider audience. Previously, the company limited personalized image generation to paying subscribers, but it is now offering it for free to eligible Gemini users in the US, opening up access for more people to AI-generated images based on their photos, preferences, and connected Google apps.

The move builds upon Google’s Personal Intelligence platform that was launched earlier this year. Rather than responding to all prompts uniformly, Personal Intelligence allows Gemini to tailor responses based on data from services you’ve opted to link, such as Google Photos. The latest update goes a step further with this idea, combining Personal Intelligence with Google’s Nano Banana image model, which lets Gemini generate images that better reflect your interests and lifestyle.

For example, you can ask Gemini to draw up your dream living room, imagine your perfect vacation, or make artwork around your hobbies. Instead of just creating something generic, the AI can access context from your connected apps and Google Photos library to produce more personalized results. According to Google’s blog post, details such as labels on photos and the information you’ve chosen to share help Gemini understand who’s important to you and what you like, making the generated images more relevant.

It launched in April for Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers but is now removing that paywall for eligible US users. The company said the rollout starts today and will roll out over the coming weeks.

Privacy is naturally part of the discussion when AI begins to work with personal data. Google emphasizes that Gemini doesn’t directly train its AI models on your private Google Photos library. Instead, the company says model training is limited to the specific prompts you provide in Gemini and the AI’s responses. Users have control over the Google apps that connect to Personal Intelligence, ensuring that this feature only operates with the services they have explicitly linked.