Google may add AI text-to-image generator to Gboard

SAN FRANCISCO: Google is expected to introduce a host of AI features for its products in the near future, and among them, Gboard for Android is working to integrate the Imagen text-to-image generator, the media reported.

In a recent APK (Android Package Kit) teardown, conducted by 9to5Google, the latest beta version of Gboard -- contains lines of code that mention an "Imagen Keyboard".

This Imagen feature will appear in the shortcuts strip/page, like Clipboard, Translate, and One-handed.

For people who are unfamiliar with Imagen, it is similar to the popular text-to-image generator DALL-E 2 -- which is owned by ChatGPT creator OpenAI.

It is capable of creating images based on the request users submit to it, according to the report.

However, Google's research found that more people preferred Imagen's results over DALL-E's.

Imagen is also said to be better at spatial relations, long-form text, rare words, and challenging prompts, said the report.

Since an APK teardown focuses on features in development, there is no guarantee that they will be included in the upcoming update.

Earlier this month, Google unveiled its new artificial intelligence (AI) service 'Bard' to compete against OpenAI's ChatGPT, which is opened up to "trusted testers" before the company makes it "more widely available to the public".