Following the viral popularity of its AI picture generating tool, Google releases Nano Banana 2

Google has launched a new version of its popular AI image generation model called Nano Banana 2.

The company says the new model is faster and performs better than the earlier version. It is being added to several Google products, including the Gemini app, AI Mode and Lens in Google Search, and Flow, Google’s AI video tool.

Nano Banana first became popular in August when Google introduced it as an AI image editor. It quickly went viral. In just four days in September, it brought 13 million new users to the Gemini app. By mid-October, users had created more than 5 billion images. Later, Google released an upgraded version called Nano Banana Pro in November.

Nano Banana 2 uses Gemini’s faster and cheaper “Flash” models. This helps users generate and edit images more quickly. Google also said the new model follows instructions better and creates sharper, more detailed images.

The launch is part of Google’s effort to stay competitive in the AI race, especially against OpenAI’s ChatGPT. After some early challenges, Google has made strong progress in AI. Its success has helped boost the company’s stock price by 47% in the past six months.

In November, Google also released its Gemini 3 AI model. The model became very successful and reportedly pushed OpenAI to speed up its own AI development. By the end of December, the Gemini app had more than 750 million monthly active users.