Need AI to generate an image? Just ask for what you want in Google Search.

If you need an AI image generator, there are a whole lot of options out there. Midjourney is a popular one, as is Dall-E. However, wouldn’t it be great if you could generate images in a more convenient spot you probably visit every day anyway?

Well, you can thank Google for doing just that. Today, Google announced it is allowing you to generate an image in Google Search. That means you can head to Google.com and type in your image prompt like you’d perform a standard keyword search. Once you do, Google will make you that image, lickity split.

This new feature is part of Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE). To access it, you need to opt-in to this program. Additionally, you need to live in the United States, issue your prompts in English, and be over the age of 18.

Google is making it clear that it cares a lot about the safety of this new tool. The company has put significant guardrails on the project to prevent abuse. For example, you can’t generate an image through Google Search that would violate its existing prohibited use policy. That means no misleading or harmful content can be created. Additionally, every generated image will come with metadata and an embedded watermark that proves it is AI-generated.

Generate an image in Google Search: An example

To show off how this new tool works, Google created the GIF above. It shows a user entering the prompt “draw an image of a capybara wearing a chef’s hat and making breakfast.” The user does this straight from the main Google.com page in the same text box we all use every day.

In seconds, SGE returns four images created using the prompt. They then tap on one of the images and hit the “Edit” button, which allows them to tweak it further.

Although I live in the United States, have access to SGE, and am over 18 years old, I couldn’t get this new tool to work. It’s possible it will only roll out widely over the next few days, but Google didn’t clarify as much.

Other new SGE tools

Outside of this image generator, Google is also bringing some existing Bard features to the Search text box. For example, you can now ask SGE to give you an idea for writing a short story or a speech. For example, you could ask Google to “write a toast for the best man at a wedding.” Google will create the draft for you, and from there, you can ask to make it shorter, longer, or in a different style.

Additionally, you can quickly export these drafts to Docs or Gmail.