Sundar Pichai joins Google Gemini Nano Banana trend with AI-generated photo

Sundar Pichai shared an AI-generated image of himself using Google Gemini Nano Banana, celebrating the app’s milestone of 5 billion images and highlighting its viral success.

Ayush Mukherjee

September 26, 2025 / 09:25 IST

Google CEO Sundar Pichai

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has shared an AI-generated image of himself on X, adding to the viral momentum around the company’s Gemini Nano Banana tool. His post came in response to Google Vice President Josh Woodward, who revealed that the Gemini app had generated more than 5 billion images in under a month. Pichai wittily added, “Make that 5 billion and 1,” attaching his own creation.

The photo he shared shows a 3D-style figurine of him holding his pet dog Jeffree, created using Gemini’s AI Toolbox. It highlights the creative possibilities of Nano Banana, an advanced image-generation feature within the Gemini app. The tool has already sparked a wave of internet trends, with users generating retro selfies, surreal edits and playful experiments.

In his post, Josh Woodward pointed out that the app was now trending globally. He noted a particular craze where users generate retro-style selfies of themselves holding baby versions of their younger selves. The trend has gone viral across social media platforms.

To create one of these images with Gemini Nano Banana, users need to log into the app or install it if they have not already. They can then upload a selfie or clear photo and input prompts such as: “Create a retro-style selfie of me holding a baby version of myself. Make it look like an old family photo, with warm vintage colours and a natural background.” Gemini then generates the requested image, usually within seconds.

Launched last month, Gemini Nano Banana has been praised for its speed, accuracy and ease of use. Experts suggest it currently has an edge over rivals like MidJourney and other AI image tools, largely because of its seamless integration with Google’s app ecosystem. Its accessibility has driven global adoption, making it one of the fastest-growing AI-powered creative tools to date.