Tools like Watermark Remover.io can already scrub marks from companies like Shutterstock, and a research team at Google built a watermark removal algorithm in 2017 to highlight the need for more secure protections. Conversely, some AI tools — like OpenAI’s GPT-4o — will refuse requests to remove them.

Google’s newest AI model, Gemini 2.0 Flash, is exceptionally good at removing watermarks from copyrighted images including Getty Images, according to multiple users. However, AI watermark removal does raise copyright concerns.

Tanay Jaipuria, tech analyst and partner at Wing VC, is one of the many Gemini AI 2.0 Flash AI users who have discovered its ability to clear watermarks. The experimental version of Gemini also allows ‘conversational image editing’ when generating pictures from text prompts.