The news: Google launched Gemini 2.5 Flash Image (nicknamed nano banana), a generative AI image editor that replaces toolbars with text prompts. Already topping LMArena’s image-editing leaderboard, it signals a shift toward prompt-driven creative tools.

Google expands foothold in AI creative tools: Between nano banana and Veo 3, Google is building a creative genAI stack spanning still images and video. 

The latest products position Google as a direct challenger to Adobe Photoshop and Canva, whose interface-heavy workflows risk looking dated next to fast, text-driven models. Already, 38% of North American marketers use AI for content ideation according to Growthloop and Ascend2.

How it works: Nano banana preserves faces, styles, and details through multiple edits, giving users Photoshop-level control using only text. It runs in lightweight browser-based interfaces, often as a front-end for language models and can operate on minimal hardware.

Pricing sits at $30 per million output tokens—about $0.039 per 1024x1024 pixel image. But Gemini app users, both free and paid, can access nano banana features with no per-image charge, making the tool effectively free at the interface level.

The caveat: Though image output is flat-rated per million output tokens, other fees apply. Input prompts, context caching, grounded search, and storage may incur additional charges. Ballooning AI generation costs could be a barrier to adoption, especially compared to fixed subscription costs.

Our take: Nano banana, like Veo 3, reinforces Google’s move to establish Gemini as the default AI tool set for marketers, designers, and advertisers. This opens up adoption opportunities beyond text and coding-based genAI applications.

For advertisers and marketers, this means two things: Production cycles can compress, and reliance on legacy design platforms could erode if AI tools can compete on price.