Google Retires Imagen 4 API and Forces Migration to Gemini Image Models

Google is retiring the Imagen 4 API endpoints — including imagen-4.0-generate-001, imagen-4.0-ultra-generate-001, and imagen-4.0-fast-generate-001 — effective August 17, 2026. Developers are being directed to migrate to Gemini image models, specifically gemini-3.1-flash-image and related endpoints. The decision ends the independent Imagen product line for most API users and folds image generation more tightly into the Gemini ecosystem. Google has been steadily unifying its generative capabilities under the Gemini brand, and this retirement is the latest step in that consolidation. Teams still relying on Imagen 4 will need to update their integrations and re-test quality, latency, and pricing under the new Gemini image models.