Google’s new AI suite will debut with the Pixel 9 series

Google Pixels have always been known for their AI intelligence. Since the beginning, Google has strived to create unique, useful features, and with the current LLM craze, it’s no surprise that the upcoming Google Pixel 9 series is set to bring even more sophisticated AI experiences.

Thanks to a source within Google, Android Authority has learned that Google is planning to introduce a number of new ML features under the “Google AI” brand, including a feature that resembles Microsoft’s controversial Recall.

Google AI will include a mix of new and existing features. Circle to Search is already available on Pixels and even select third-party devices, and Gemini is available on all Android phones.

However, there are three completely new features: the first is Add me, which claims to ensure everyone is in a group photo. While we don’t have additional information about the feature, it looks like an improved version of Best Take, which can not only change the expressions of people in a photo, but also merge photos with different people in them. Best Take was first introduced with the Pixel 8 series, and while it’s controversial, it’s still nice to have. Add Me shows that Google wants to lean further into the idea that it matters what you’re photographing rather than what you actually photographed, and that it thinks AI could be the solution to this problem.

Another new feature is Studio. We believe it’s the same Creative Assistant app we spotted earlier. Previous references we’ve found reveal that the app will integrate with the Pixels’ screenshot editing app, allowing it to create stickers (“remix”).

However, the description from the screenshot above makes it seem like the app can do a lot more than just create stickers. It could be a comprehensive AI image generator, similar to Apple’s Image Playground. It is worth noting that Google has been working on its own models that generate images and even videos for some time. If you want to try them yourself, ImageFX lets anyone try the Google Imagen 2 template, and VideoFX (currently in closed beta) extends the video capability. It will definitely be interesting to see how Google integrates Studio into other apps.

The last and perhaps most interesting feature is Pixel screenshots.

Pixel Screenshots is a feature that closely resembles Microsoft’s controversial Flip feature. For those of you who haven’t had internet access in the past month, Recall is a Windows 11 feature that will be exclusive to the new Copilot Plus PCs. It automatically records everything you’re doing and uses in-device AI to let you quickly find information from whatever you’re looking for. However, many people criticized the feature due to its privacy implications, especially after it was discovered that any attacker with access to your computer could read anything stored by the feature, and Microsoft halted the rollout while it resolved these issues.

Google’s take on the feature is different and more privacy-focused: instead of automatically recording everything you’re doing, it will only work on screenshots you take yourself. When you do this, the app will add some extra metadata to it, like app names, web links, etc. After that, it will be processed by a local AI, apparently the new multimodal version of Gemini Nano, which will allow you to search for specific screenshots only by their content, as well as ask a bot questions about theirs.

My take on this feature is that it’s definitely a better implementation of the idea than what Microsoft created. While there is a difference in functionality, both apps ultimately serve a similar purpose, and Google’s implementation doesn’t easily leak sensitive information, at least. It will be interesting to see how it works in practice.

It’s worth noting that Motorola is also working on its own version of Recall – not much is known at the moment, but it looks like it will be similar to Google’s implementation, without automatically saving everything on the screen.

What do you think of the new Google AI features coming to the Pixel 9 series? Tell us in the comments.