India Leads the Way on Google’s Nano Banana as Creative AI Trends Go Viral

Gemini Nano Banana model is available via the Gemini app(AI generated)

India leads the way on Google’s Nano Banana as creative trends like retro Bollywood portraits, AI sarees, and AI landmarks push the Gemini app to record growth.

Google’s Nano Banana image-generation model, officially known as Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, is gaining massive traction worldwide. But India leads the way on Google’s Nano Banana, with millions of users embracing the AI model in unique and highly creative ways, according to David Sharon, Google DeepMind’s multimodal generation lead for Gemini Apps.

India Tops Nano Banana Usage Globally

India has emerged as the No. 1 country for Nano Banana adoption, helping propel the Gemini app to the top of both Apple’s App Store and Google Play charts. Daily downloads in India skyrocketed after the September 1 Nano Banana update, peaking at 414,000 installs on September 13 — a 667% surge that kept Gemini at the No. 1 overall spot across both stores since mid-September.

While India accounts for 15.2 million downloads this year versus 9.8 million in the U.S., in-app spending remains higher in the U.S., which leads with $2.3 million in consumer spending compared to India’s $95,000 so far. Still, India posted 18% month-over-month growth in spending, outpacing the global average.

google gemini app nano banana figurine sample — **Image Credits:**Google

Viral AI Trends in India

What makes India’s adoption unique is the local creative twist driving engagement. Sharon highlighted several viral AI trends emerging in India:

Retro Bollywood Portraits: Users reimagining themselves in 1990s Bollywood styles with era-specific fashion and makeup.
AI Saree Trend: Vintage-style portraits featuring traditional Indian attire.
Landmark Selfies: AI-generated selfies in front of Big Ben, UK phone booths, and other iconic spots.
Miniature Figurines: A trend that began in Thailand but gained global momentum after India embraced it.
Time-Travel & AI Stamps: Users re-creating old black-and-white photos and AI postage stamp effects.

Sharon noted that India not only created original trends but also helped popularize global ones, amplifying their reach worldwide.

Veo 3 AI Video Model Adds to Growth

Beyond Nano Banana, Indian users are also adopting Google’s Veo 3 AI video-generation model to transform old family photos into animated short videos, fueling even more downloads for the Gemini app.

Privacy Concerns and Google’s Response

Despite the surge, concerns around privacy and data misuse have grown as users upload personal photos for AI transformations.

Google says it has embedded both visible watermarks and hidden SynthID markers into AI-generated images to ensure transparency. A public detection tool allowing anyone to verify whether an image was AI-generated is also in the works.

“This is still day one, and we’re learning together,” Sharon said, adding that feedback from users and experts will help improve both safety and user experience going forward.

The Bigger Picture

With India leading the way on Google’s Nano Banana, the country is shaping global AI trends while driving record-breaking adoption for the Gemini app. As Google rolls out more AI capabilities, India’s massive digital population is likely to remain at the forefront of both innovation and experimentation.