What is Nano Banana?
“Google’s Nano Banana is an image model that’s exceptional at creating and editing photo-real visuals, and polished graphics with sharp, legible type. Built to preserve identity and visual details across edits, it’s especially useful for storyboards, campaigns, character concepts, and repeatable creative series.”
Source: Pika’s Nano Banana page. Icon: Pika.
“Nano Banana” is Google’s name for its Gemini image models. There are several versions, each with an official Gemini model name, released over the past year.
The Nano Banana versions
| Version | Gemini model | Released | How Google positions it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nano Banana | Gemini 2.5 Flash Image | August 2025 | The original model; Google now recommends Nano Banana 2 Lite in its place |
| Nano Banana Pro | Gemini 3 Pro Image | November 2025 | The higher-end model for complex, professional work |
| Nano Banana 2 | Gemini 3.1 Flash Image | February 2026 | Pro-level “world knowledge, quality and reasoning” at Flash speed; 512px to 4K; consistency for up to five characters and 14 objects |
| Nano Banana 2 Lite | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Image | June 2026 | Google’s “fastest, most cost-efficient” image model, for “rapid ideation,” with “legible in-image text rendering” |
Sources: Google’s Nano Banana 2 announcement (February 26, 2026), Nano Banana 2 Lite announcement (June 30, 2026) and Google Cloud blog (May 28, 2026).
Which Nano Banana does Pika use?
Pika’s Edit Image app lists Nano Banana 2 as its model. Pika’s Nano Banana app page doesn’t list which versions it offers, so check the model picker in the app. Where you can choose, use the guide below.
Invisible watermark. Google says images from its Nano Banana models carry SynthID, an invisible watermark that identifies them as AI-generated, and it is adding C2PA Content Credentials. That can matter for platforms that detect or label AI content.
Which version should you use?
Nano Banana 2 Lite
Fastest and cheapest per Google. Good for trying lots of ideas quickly.
Use for: brainstorming, drafts, quick variations.
Nano Banana 2
Google’s balanced option: high quality at Flash speed, up to 4K.
Use for: most finished images and edits.
Nano Banana Pro
Google’s model for complex, professional work.
Use for: demanding scenes where control matters most.
A practical approach: draft on the fastest version you have, then re-run the prompt you like on a higher version. Costs are shown in the Pika app before you generate; see Pika pricing.
What Nano Banana is good at
Photo-real images
Pika highlights “photo-real visuals” for both creating and editing.
Readable text
“Polished graphics with sharp, legible type” for posters and social graphics.
Consistent edits
“Built to preserve identity and visual details across edits.”
Series work
Pika names “storyboards, campaigns, character concepts, and repeatable creative series.”
How to use Nano Banana in Pika
- Open Nano Banana at create.pika.art/apps/nano-banana, or use Edit Image to change a photo.
- Choose the version if the app offers a choice.
- Attach references for faces, products or places, and @mention them.
- Write the prompt: subject, setting, composition, light, style, and any text in quotes.
- Pick the aspect ratio for where the image will be used.
- Check the credit cost, then generate.
- Refine with an edit rather than starting over; Nano Banana is built to keep details across edits.
Example prompts and results
Six prompts built around the uses Pika names for Nano Banana. Each shows the result from one generation, what to check and one change to try. The prompts are our own.
Campaign hero shot
A woman in a mustard raincoat cycling past a row of pastel houses on a wet morning, reflections in puddles, soft overcast light. Wide shot, photographic, fresh and optimistic, space on the left for a headline.
What to look for: Photo-real detail in the bike, coat and reflections; clean empty space for copy.
Try one change: Change the season to autumn and keep everything else the same for a campaign variant.
Poster with a headline
A retro travel poster of a mountain lake at sunrise, pine trees in the foreground. Bold flat colours, 1960s screen-print style. Headline at the top reading “Visit Lake Aurora” in a clean sans-serif.
What to look for: Every letter of the headline is correct and sits cleanly in the layout.
Try one change: Add a smaller line underneath: “Open all year.” Check both lines.
Character concept
A retired astronaut in his seventies with a white beard and a faded orange flight jacket, full body, standing, neutral pose, plain light-grey background. Photographic.
What to look for: A clear, distinctive character on a clean background you can reuse.
Try one change: Keep the same description and change only the setting to test consistency.
Storyboard frame 1
Storyboard frame: the retired astronaut from the reference sits on a porch at dusk, looking up at the sky. Wide shot, warm lamp light, cinematic. Keep his face and jacket exactly as in the reference.
What to look for: The character matches the concept image in face and clothing.
Try one change: Generate frame 2: a close-up of his face as a light streaks across the sky.
Edit: change the weather
Change the overcast sky to a clear golden-hour sunset. Keep the houses, the cyclist and everything else exactly the same.
What to look for: Only the sky and light change; the cyclist and buildings stay identical.
Try one change: Try “light snowfall” instead to create a winter variant from the same photo.
Repeatable series
Top-down flat lay of a ceramic coffee cup on a linen cloth with a croissant and a small vase of wildflowers, soft daylight, muted pastel colours, minimal. Square frame.
What to look for: A look you could repeat across many posts with different items.
Try one change: Swap the croissant for a slice of lemon cake and keep every other word.
From Nano Banana images to video
Google itself suggests pairing Nano Banana 2 Lite with its Gemini Omni Flash video model: generate the images fast, then animate them. Pika lists Google Omni Flash among its video models, and any Nano Banana image can also be animated in Video Studio.
Campaign shot, in motion
Animate @cyclist. She rides past the houses, wheels splashing through puddles. Tracking shot alongside her. Keep her coat and the houses unchanged.
Storyboard to moving shot
Slow push-in from the wide porch shot to a close-up of his face as a light streaks across the sky. Smooth, one continuous move.
Poster, living
Animate @poster. The sun rises slowly and the lake shimmers; the headline stays still. Camera static. Keep the screen-print style.
Flat lay loop
Animate @flatlay. Steam curls from the cup and the flowers sway slightly. Camera static, top-down. Keep every item in place.
Motion prompts are our own. Techniques: image-to-video guide and Pikaframes.
When to use another model
| If you need… | Consider |
|---|---|
| A transparent background | GPT Image 2.5 |
| Dense infographics or text in several languages | Seedream 5 |
| Six options from one prompt | Seedream 4 |
| An image you’ll animate with speech | Grok Imagine |
Full comparison: Pika image models.
Common problems and fixes
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Headline has a wrong letter | Put the text in quotes, shorten it, or fix it with an edit |
| Character changes between images | Attach the first image as a reference and add “keep … exactly as in the reference” |
| Edit changed more than asked | Add “keep everything else exactly the same” |
| Draft quality isn’t good enough | Re-run the same prompt on a higher version if the app offers one |
| Series images don’t match | Reuse the same wording, light and aspect ratio; change one item at a time |
Nano Banana FAQs
Is Nano Banana made by Pika?
No. It’s Google’s image model family. Pika offers it inside its apps.
What’s the difference between Nano Banana 2 and Nano Banana Pro?
Google describes Nano Banana 2 as bringing Pro-level quality and reasoning at faster Flash speed. Pro is its model for complex, professional work.
Which version does Pika’s Edit Image use?
Edit Image lists Nano Banana 2 as its model.
Can Nano Banana keep a character consistent?
Pika says it’s “built to preserve identity and visual details across edits,” and Google says Nano Banana 2 can keep up to five characters consistent. For a reusable character, also see Character Studio.
Do Nano Banana images have a watermark?
Google says its images carry SynthID, an invisible watermark, and it is adding C2PA Content Credentials. There’s no visible logo.
Is this the official Pika or Google website?
No. pikaais.com is an independent informational guide, not affiliated with Pika or Google.
Start a series with one image
Generate one campaign image, then use edits to make two variants that keep the same subject and look.
Open Nano Banana ↗Next: Image models · Image editing · AI image hub
Sources: Pika Nano Banana, Pika Edit Image, Google’s Nano Banana 2 and Nano Banana 2 Lite announcements, and the Google Cloud blog, checked September 24, 2026. Images and icon: Pika. Prompts and tips are our own. Not affiliated with Google.