Google's new AI tools put film scouting in Street View and promise to cut weeks of satellite analysis to minutes

At Cloud Next, Google unveiled three new AI imaging tools. Creatives can drop AI-generated images into real Street View locations, Google says city planners will be able to analyze satellite imagery in minutes instead of weeks, and developers get new models that can identify objects like bridges and power lines.

The new Maps Imagery Grounding lets users anchor AI-generated images in real Street View scenes from Google Maps. For now, it's only available as a private preview for US locations.

Google is pitching the tool at film studios and creative agencies. Instead of scheduling expensive location scouts, teams can visualize a scene at a specific spot with a text prompt in the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform.

The example Google gives is a film studio typing "generate an image of a futuristic spaceship hovering in front of the Washington Square Arch" and getting back an image grounded in the real location within seconds. Google's Veo video model can then bring those scenes to life.

Google says satellite analysis could drop from weeks to minutes

The second update is Aerial and Satellite Insights inside Google Earth AI. Launching in the coming weeks, the feature will let users analyze aerial and satellite imagery directly in Google Cloud's BigQuery.

Currently, Google says, data analysts and urban planners have to sift through thousands of satellite images by hand to spot changes in landscapes and cities. The new tool should cut that work from weeks to minutes. One use case Google points to is tracking active construction sites in residential areas so planners can better allocate resources for new roads and power lines.

Google is also rolling out two new Earth AI imagery models, available on an experimental basis in Google Cloud's Model Garden. The models are trained to spot specific objects like bridges, roads, and power lines, so companies can build their own products without spending months training custom AI models.

All three features are still in early rollout. Maps Imagery Grounding is application-only as a private preview, the Earth AI imagery models are flagged as experimental, and Aerial and Satellite Insights is still a few weeks out. Anyone interested can sign up for early access to the geospatial analytics products.