Give ordinary pictures a ‘wow factor’ with Google Photos’ AI editing

Every Google user automatically gets 15GB of free Google Photos storage when they create a Google account.

You can store your smartphone photos, videos, and screenshots in this space–either manually or through the automatic syncing from your phone. Each uploaded file can be labeled with keywords and descriptions, and you can combine multiple photos into albums or collections, and even create photo books.

You can access your online photo library on your PC at photos.google.com or on your smartphone through the Google Photos app. Just make sure you’re logged in to your Google account.

However, Google Photos is much more than just an online photo album. The service also includes numerous tools for editing photos, some of which even use artificial intelligence. In this guide, we’ll show you where AI comes into play during the editing process, how to use it on your PC and smartphone, and what kind of results you can expect.

Editing photos with AI in your browser

In the main view of Google Photos, you can see all your saved photos along with the date and place they were taken. To scroll quickly, move the mouse to the right edge of the screen to display the timeline, then click any date to jump to it. Clicking a photo opens it in full view.

If you want to edit an image, click on the icon in the top-right corner of the full view. This opens a toolbar with editing options. Click the three stars to access “Suggestions,” the automatic editing feature, which includes various presets such as “Dynamic,” “Warm,” “Cold,” or “Vivid,” as well as the “Optimize” option. With this option, the AI applies the corrections independently.

Note: Exactly which presets are offered to you for a photo depends on the image in question! However, the “Optimize” option is always available and, in our tests, consistently produced the best results. The edited images show noticeably more detail and depth than the alternatives.

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Google Photos offers further editing options in the “Tools” menu, which you can open by clicking the tool icon. However, not all options are available for every image.

In general, Google Photos offers five functions here:

Portrait lighting lets you adjust the exposure of a photo retrospectively by digitally changing the position of the light source. To do this, simply move the displayed circle with your finger and/or add additional light sources using additional markers. The slider regulates the intensity of the lighting.

Blur softens the background, and you can set the intensity with the slider. The main subject is automatically detected and kept sharp in the foreground.

Sky offers presets such as “Radiant” and “Stormy,” along with a slider to control intensity and adjust the sky’s appearance with a single click.

Color focus reduces color saturation of the background while keeping the main subject in color. A slider is also available here to adjust the intensity.

Finally, the HDR effect increases the brightness and contrast of a photo.

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Using AI-powered image editing on smartphones

As we’ve shown, some of Google Photos’ AI features are also available in the browser. However, smartphones and tablets offer more functionality. The availability of specific tools depends not only on your device’s hardware but also on the subject of the photo.

To access the AI tools, open the detailed view of a photo, and scroll until you find “Tools.” Depending on the subject, you’ll find options such as “Portrait lighting,” “Blur background,” “Sharpen,” “Zoom optimization,” “Magic eraser,” and “Color focus.”

“Portrait lighting,” “Blur background,” and “Color focus,” work similarly to their desktop counterparts.

However, with “Blur background,” you can also adjust the focus range in addition to the level of blurring, while “Portrait lighting” lets you equalize the lighting or add additional light sources to brighten a subject.

“Sharpen,” on the other hand, is a function that’s only available in the Google Photos app. It helps improve images that are blurry due to motion or background depth. You can adjust the sharpness with a slider.

The “Zoom optimization” feature is also exclusive to the app. It lets you crop images with your fingers, and Google Photos then automatically enhances the enlarged sections for improved sharpness.

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Using Magic Eraser and AI filters in the Photos app

The magic eraser, introduced in the Google Photos app in 2023, is the service’s most impressive AI feature. It removes unwanted elements from your images.

After selecting a photo and starting the Magic Eraser, Google first analyzes the image. You can then mark the unwanted area with your finger.

You now have two options:

• You can leave the marked area “Erased,” and Google Photos will automatically fill the gap using the surrounding parts of the image.
• You can also “Hide” the selection. In this mode, the Magic Eraser changes the color of the selected area to make it less noticeable.

If you’re happy with the result, save your changes. If not, repeat the process as often as necessary.

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Another AI-powered feature in Google Photos can be found in the detailed view of an image under “Edit.”

This tool can be used not only to remove selected areas, but also to enlarge, reduce, move, or copy them to another part of the image.

You can access the feature by tapping the color-changing icon in the bottom left corner of the “Edit” menu. Mark the desired image area by circling it, swiping over it, or tapping on it.

You can then resize or reposition the selected area by spreading or pinching two fingers. Once it’s placed correctly, tap the arrow at the bottom right corner and Google Photos will start processing. Tick the box to save the result.

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If you tap the color-changing icon again in the same menu, Google Photos will display various AI filters.

The available filters depend on the subject of the photo. For example, we applied “Golden Hour” for a warm, dramatic effect, and “Sky” to brighten it and add extra clouds. “Portrait,” on the other hand, blurs the background in various gradations.

Another AI filter, called “Stylized,” transforms the photo into a drawing or painting.

The results vary with each use. The AI generates up to four versions per filter, and you can request more with a single tap.

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Generative AI features: Remix and Reimagine

Artificial intelligence is currently used in Google Photos mainly for image editing. However, the company has announced plans to add generative AI to future versions of the app.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case until recently, and we haven’t been able to test the revised editor announced in June 2025, which will include all tools under a new “Actions” menu.

Still, we’d like to take this opportunity to introduce the upcoming AI features, which will be bundled under the “Create” menu.

For example, you’ll soon be able to use the “Remix” feature to turn your photos into a 3D animation, an anime-style image, a sketch, or a comic.

On the other hand, “Video from photo” will create six-second video clips from your photos, with options like “Subtle effect” (e.g., a smile) or “Good luck,” which adds more movement.

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With the “Reimagine” feature, you can use a text prompt to add new elements to an existing photo, such as “yellow flower meadow” or “stormy sky.” “Auto Frame,” found in the crop menu, lets you replace or extend a photo’s background if it’s been cropped too much.

No more bad pictures

Google Photos already offers a range of AI-powered image editing features that deliver impressive results.

However, once generative AI is fully integrated and further developed, it won’t matter how well a photo was originally taken. AI will handle the rest.

Author: Verena Ottmann, Contributor, PCWorld