Google has released its SynthID Detector tool to the general public, allowing anyone to scan uploaded media for hidden markers. The software provides results within seconds and is accessible via Open SynthID.com.
Users can sign in to the platform using accounts from Apple, OpenAI, or Google. The tool identifies watermarks from several industry partners, including Nvidia, Kakao, and OpenAI, which all use the same SynthID technology to tag AI-generated content.
While Apple participates in the SynthID initiative, support for detecting content generated by the company is still under development. Google first introduced SynthID in 2023, followed by a limited version for journalists and researchers in 2025.
The detector currently cannot identify content produced by Meta's AI tools, which instead use a separate watermark known as Content Seal. A 2026 Reuters report noted that Meta's detection tool occasionally failed to correctly identify AI-generated material.
Other companies like Anthropic and Microsoft have begun watermarking media but do not yet provide consumer-facing tools to check those marks. Google stated that SynthID watermarks can survive edits made to the original AI-generated content.
Reports indicate that users may be limited to approximately 10 checks per day. OpenAI operates its own separate detector for identifying synthetic media.
