Google launched Mixboard on Tuesday, an experimental mood board creator that gives its Nano Banana artificial intelligence (AI) image editor its first major consumer test. The tool is now available in beta across the United States at labs.google/mixboard.
The web-based platform combines Google’s Gemini 2.5 Flash model for generating images with Nano Banana for editing tasks. Users type prompts, such as “cozy minimalist home office,” or upload their own photos to create visual concept boards.
Nano Banana gained attention earlier this year for creating detailed 3D figurine designs. Now Google is testing whether the same technology can handle more subtle creative work.
“Edit your boards with natural language to do things like make small changes, combine images and more, with our new image editing model Nano Banana,” Google wrote in its announcement blog post. The company refers to Mixboard as an “early experiment” rather than a finished product.
Users can tweak their boards using natural language commands without technical knowledge. Someone can type “swap colors” or “combine these images” to modify their creations. One-click options like “regenerate” and “more like this” help users explore variations.
Source: Google
Google will be in direct competition with Pinterest’s collage features and Adobe’s Firefly Boards. Meta has recently added AI-powered editing to Instagram and Threads, while Pinterest is testing its own smart remix tools. But most competitors treat AI as a final step in the creative process.
Mixboard builds AI into the foundation from the start. Users begin with either blank canvases, pre-made templates, or text descriptions of what they want to create.
However, it raises the question of whether automating mood board creation defeats the purpose. Traditional mood boarding involves manually searching for and collecting inspiration. The discovery process itself sparks creativity.
Google is tracking how people actually use Mixboard before deciding its future. A Discord community lets beta testers share feedback directly with developers. The company hasn’t announced plans for international availability or when the experiment might end.
Mixboard will serve as a testing ground for Nano Banana’s capabilities for now. Google gets real-world data about how people interact with AI editing tools. Users get free access to technology that might shape future creative applications.
The experiment runs only in the United States through Google Labs. No timeline exists for wider release or integration into other Google products.