How to Use Nano Banana in Gemini (App and Web)

Nano Banana is built into Gemini. When you ask the Gemini app for a picture, or upload a photo and ask for a change, it uses Nano Banana: Nano Banana 2 by default, with Nano Banana Pro available on paid Google AI plans. Here is how to use it on your phone or on the web.

How to create an image in Gemini

1. Open the Gemini app on Android or iOS, or go to gemini.google.com, and sign in.
2. Tap the + button next to the prompt box and choose Create image, or simply ask for an image in plain words. On the web you can also open the Images section in the sidebar.
3. Describe what you want in full sentences: subject, setting, light, style.
4. Ask for changes in the same chat: “make the sky darker”, “move the title to the top”.
5. Open the image and download it.

How to edit a photo with Nano Banana in Gemini

Attach a photo from your camera roll and, in the same message, describe the change and what to keep: “Replace the background with a beach at sunset. Keep the person exactly the same.” Gemini returns the edited photo, and you can keep editing it turn by turn. For ideas, see the Gemini AI photo prompts.

How to use Nano Banana Pro in Gemini

On Google AI plans you can redo an image with Nano Banana Pro for more detail and better text. Google has changed how this is labeled since launch (it started as the “Thinking” model option in Create images), so look for the Pro option in the model menu or on the image itself. More detail: How to use Nano Banana Pro.

Limits in the Gemini app

Google no longer publishes a fixed number of free images. Its help page describes usage-based limits that refill every few hours up to a weekly cap, with higher limits on Google AI Plus, Pro and Ultra. Check Settings, then Usage limits in the app. Free downloads are smaller than on paid plans, and images carry a visible Gemini mark by default plus the invisible SynthID watermark. The full picture is on Is Nano Banana free?. If images stop appearing or you see errors, Nano Banana not working lists the fixes.

How to stop Gemini from using Nano Banana

There is no setting that turns Nano Banana off for personal accounts. When Gemini makes images you did not ask for, it is usually reacting to earlier image requests in the same chat. Start a new chat, and say up front that you want a text-only answer. Workspace administrators manage Gemini features separately in the Admin console.

Prefer a dedicated image studio?

The Gemini app is a chat first. If you make a lot of images, Nano Banana AI runs the same Nano Banana models in a studio with direct aspect-ratio and resolution controls (up to 4K), project history and other models like GPT Image 2 on one credit balance. It is an independent studio, not affiliated with Google.