Google just quietly launched Mixboard, an experimental AI-powered visual brainstorming tool that turns text prompts into interactive mood boards. The Google Labs project enters public beta today in the U.S., introducing a new image editing model called "Nano Banana" that lets users modify visuals with natural language commands.
Google is making another play for the creative AI space. The company's experimental division just dropped Mixboard, a visual brainstorming tool that feels like Pinterest met ChatGPT and had a baby designed for actual work.
The timing isn't coincidental. As Adobe doubles down on AI-powered creative tools and Figma pushes deeper into collaborative design, Google's betting that the next frontier isn't just generating images - it's helping people think visually from the ground up.
Mixboard works like this: drop in a text prompt or pick from pre-built boards, and the AI generates a collection of related images and text. But here's where it gets interesting - users can edit everything using natural language. "Make this kitchen more modern" or "combine these two product concepts" actually works, thanks to what Google calls "Nano Banana," their new image editing model.
The name might sound silly, but the implications aren't. Google's essentially created a visual version of what made ChatGPT so sticky - the ability to iterate on ideas through conversation rather than complex menus and tools.
"We hope it will make it easier for anyone to use AI to explore their ideas," according to the official Google Labs blog post. That's Google-speak for "we think visual AI is about to explode and we want to own the creative workflow."
The competitive landscape here is already heating up. Pinterest has been pushing AI-powered visual search and creation tools, while Canva recently rolled out AI design assistants. But Google's approach feels different - less about polished final products and more about messy, iterative exploration.
What's really clever is the "more like this" and regeneration features. Users can generate variations of any concept with one click, turning creative exploration into something that feels more like browsing than creating. That's a user experience breakthrough that could make visual brainstorming as addictive as scrolling social feeds.
The beta launch reveals Google's broader AI strategy. While OpenAI focuses on text and reasoning, and pushes social AI features, Google's carving out creativity tools that bridge the gap between ideas and execution. Mixboard isn't just another AI toy - it's testing ground for how AI might reshape early-stage creative work.