Truth Check/7 October 2026

“"The new SynthID website can now identify AI content from Google, OpenAI, and more" (Ars Technica, 7 Oct 2026) - the detector's own site says it "is not a general AI detector" and detects only media from companies that have adopted SynthID”

The detector's own site says it is not a general AI detector and finds only media from companies that have adopted SynthID; a file from any other model comes back as not detected.

Checked Against

synthid.com ↗Primary

What the Source Says

Google's page: the tool checks "if an image, video, or audio file was made with AI from Google or our partners, including OpenAI, NVIDIA, Kakao, and soon, Apple". The detector's own site: "This is not a general AI detector. We can only detect media from the above companies, who have adopted SynthID technology."

The Difference

It identifies the SynthID watermark, which four companies add to their generators' output. It does not identify AI content as such: a file from any other model, or one edited heavily, comes back as not detected, and the site says that result "does not totally rule out AI generation".

Read the Check

Google opens its SynthID Detector to everyone: a free check for the watermark it has put on more than 180 billion images and videos - and that OpenAI, Nvidia and Kakao now add too, with Apple "soon"

Google's own page: the tool that was for media professionals last year is open "to everyone" from today, globally in English; its built-in checks in Search, the Gemini app and Chrome "now regularly handle over 1 million requests daily". The detector's own site draws the line coverage blurs: "This is not a general AI detector."

Every claim we have checked, in the Ledger.