This AI tool just made 500M images, and its only getting started

Gemini just made your selfies way cooler. How? With Nano Banana, a tool that turns your photos into tiny works of art. Retro Polaroids, figurine-style miniatures, or whatever creative style you can think of, all with a few simple text prompts.

And people are not holding back. In just a few weeks, over 500 million images have been created globally. And guess what? India is leading the charge.

The trends coming out of India? Next-level creative.

• Hug My Younger Self: Users generate images of themselves hugging their childhood selves. Nostalgia level: 100.
• Saree Edit: See yourself in stunning traditional attire without leaving your room. Cultural vibes? Nailed it.

And it’s not just regular folks. Celebs and public figures are joining in, making sure the Nano Banana is everywhere - your feed, your group chats, your memes.

Basically, what started as a quirky AI tool is now part of India’s cultural conversation, and the numbers show it: millions of users, viral trends, and counting.

Source: ET

What is Nano Banana, anyway?

Okay, so what’s all the fuss about?

Nano Banana, officially called Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, launched in August 2025, is Google’s latest and most powerful image generation and editing model. Think of it as an AI-powered design studio that lives inside your phone.

Here’s what makes it special:

• Blend multiple images like a pro: Want to mix a childhood photo with a recent selfie? Nano Banana stitches them together seamlessly.
• Character consistency for storytelling: Finally, no more “AI made me look like a stranger in every frame” problem. Your characters stay recognizably you across multiple images.
• Targetted transformations: Just type “add a bicycle” or “change the background to a rainy day”, and it just does it.
• World-knowledge-driven creativity: Gemini knows context. Want to see yourself as a Mughal-era artist or a Formula 1 driver? It has the historical + cultural knowledge to make it believable.

In short, Nano Banana is not just about filters or edits, it’s about giving users total creative control over their visuals, powered by AI that understands context, style, and story.

Now, let's pause and talk about Gemini itself. Because here’s the thing: Gemini isn’t just one AI, it’s a whole lineup of models, each with its own strengths, quirks, and specialties.

Some models chat like a pro, others code like a junior developer on Red Bull, and a few are full-on creative machines. Here’s what you need to know:

Source: News articles

Cool, but how much can you really use it?

Earlier, free users could generate up to 100 images a day (pretty generous, right?) while Pro and Ultra users got 1,000 images daily.

But Google’s recently tweaked the rules.

• Free users: Now get just ‘basic access’, believed to be capped at 2 image generations per day.

• Gemini 2.5 Pro users: Can generate up to 100 prompts per day.

• Gemini Ultra users: Get 500 prompts daily, with priority speeds and almost zero downtime.

Why the change? Two big reasons:

• Server Load Management – when you have half a billion images being generated globally, you’ve got to keep the system from crashing.

• Upsell to Paid Plans – let’s be honest, Google wants its power users on Pro and Ultra.

So, if you’re just casually experimenting, the free tier should work fine. But for creators, marketers, or meme factories running full steam, this is Google’s way of saying — “time to go premium.”

Let’s talk business (and market impact)

Ever since Nano Banana dropped, Gemini’s numbers have gone bananas (pun very much intended).

• Revenue boom: Gemini’s iOS revenue for 2025 has already hit $6.3 million, with $1.6 million coming just in August. That’s a mind-blowing 1,291% jump from January’s $115,000. September? Already at $792,000 with a week to go — meaning August’s record might be broken any day now.

• App store takeover: On September 12, Gemini dethroned ChatGPT to become the #1 app on the US App Store, and it hasn’t budged since. Over on Google Play, it shot up from #26 to #2 in just four days. (ChatGPT still holds the Android crown, but Gemini is now in striking distance.)

• Global dominance: Gemini is now in the top five iPhone apps in 108 countries, showing just how universal this craze has become.

• India’s big role: India is the real MVP here. With 27.3% of Gemini’s 450M+ MAUs coming from India, the country is now Gemini’s single largest market — bigger than the US. Downloads in India have overtaken ChatGPT and Perplexity, cementing this as a desi-driven phenomenon (even if Gemini is technically a Google product).

• Business adoption: Startups are jumping on board. Gemini’s enterprise API usage is surging, powering product creatives, marketing campaigns, and even custom avatars for influencer brands.

AI Face-Off: ChatGPT, Gemini & Perplexity

So far, we’ve seen how Nano Banana is taking the world (and India) by storm. But how does Gemini stack up against other AI heavyweights like ChatGPT and Perplexity? Let’s break it down.

Source: News articles and reports

For months, ChatGPT was the undisputed king of India’s chatbot scene, grabbing over 80% of the market. But then Gemini rolled out its Nano Banana upgrade. That single feature seems to have changed the game. Gemini’s share has been inching up ever since, while even Perplexity has found a niche with its quick-facts play. By August, ChatGPT India’s share had slipped to 76.6% - its lowest in months.

Source: Statcounter

Outlook

Gemini’s Nano Banana feature went viral, and suddenly, India’s AI race looked very different. But this isn’t just a passing fad, it’s proof that generative AI is reshaping how we create, work, and play.

The market’s exploding, $37.9 billion globally in 2025, and India racing to $8.34 billion by 2030. With cheap smartphones, faster internet, and millions of new users coming online, the race is only getting tighter.

And here’s the thing, there’s no clear winner yet. Gemini’s got the buzz, ChatGPT still owns productivity, and Perplexity has its fact-checking niche. But the crown will go to whoever:

• Rolls out sticky, differentiated features

• Strikes cultural resonance (like Nano Banana just did)

• Scales smoothly as India’s digital base expands

For now, Gemini may have the spotlight. But in a market this dynamic, the leaderboard can flip overnight.