Google AI Overviews can again create images in Search for some users

Image generation returns to AI Overviews

Google appears to have switched its AI Overviews image generation feature back on for at least some users, according to Search Engine Roundtable. The feature lets Search create pictures on the spot when someone asks a question, rather than only showing existing web images.

The report, published on 13 November 2026, says the capability was first announced in July and then halted the following month after criticism. It now seems to be live again for a limited group of searchers.

What searchers are seeing

Search Engine Roundtable's Barry Schwartz says Derek Hobson first noticed the change and posted about it on LinkedIn. Schwartz writes that he could reproduce the behaviour in some browsers but not in others.

In browsers where the feature is not active, the AI Overview instead states that it cannot generate images directly. That split suggests Google is still rolling the capability out gradually rather than enabling it for everyone at once.

The July launch and August pause

When Google introduced the feature in July, it said the goal was to bring image generation directly into AI Overviews in Search to help people visualise their ideas. The company paused the experiment in August after what Search Engine Roundtable describes as some controversy.

At the time, Google's Robby Stein described it as a small experiment that was no longer running. He also clarified that it was separate from a Nano Banana feature announced in July, which activates only when a user specifically asks for an image to be created.

Possible link to a Gemini update

Schwartz speculates that the return of image generation could be connected to the Gemini 4 Hydrogen update in Google Search, though he presents this as a guess rather than a confirmed explanation. Google has not publicly confirmed why the feature is reappearing.

Because the evidence is based on individual observations rather than an official announcement, it remains unconfirmed how widely the feature has been enabled or whether Google plans a broader rollout.

Why it matters

AI Overviews already summarise answers at the top of Google's results, and adding generated images changes what searchers see first. Pictures created on demand may not match real photographs, which raises questions about how clearly Google labels such content.

Search Engine Roundtable notes that Schwartz personally is unsure he wants Search to invent images for him on the fly. For publishers and site owners, images produced inside Search could also reduce the incentive for users to click through to source pages.