Google aims for influencers with the Pixel 11 Creator Suite

Google knows creators are a big audience. The occupation is growing fast, and landing some influential names could be a major turning point for the Pixel’s market share. This year, Google is building features directly into its new Pixel lineup that it says can help creators record, organize, edit, and publish content faster and more efficiently than they could on other devices.

Creator Suite is a new mode built into the Pixel 11’s camera app. The suite comes with features like a teleprompter, vocal enhancer, external microphone levels, and social media frame guides, which Google thinks will entice users who want to start building channels and have limited resources.

“ We really wanted to do something for those folks who are creating on their phones to make it easier to do that, make it faster to publish, fewer retakes, easier organization, and just streamline that workflow,” Isaac Reynolds, who leads the Pixel camera team, tells The Verge.

Reynolds says there is a massive gap between the top and bottom of the creator market, where the biggest creators have teams and resources, but the “hundreds of thousands of creators” in the bottom of the market need more accessible ways to make content.

“ They’re striving to put out content weekly or daily, even when they have full-time jobs,” Reynolds says. “They’ve got money coming in, it’s very enticing, but it’s not the replacement for their work yet.”

The arrival of TikTok has fundamentally reshaped what it means to be an influencer or a content creator, and the barrier to entry to do that work is lower than ever; all you need to do is film a selfie video. Over the last five or so years, the creator industry has both professionalized and de-professionalized: Influencers are signed to talent agencies and retain professional management, but there’s also been an explosion of cheap and fast content that is not tied to a specific personality — all that matters is whether it’s being served up to audiences. AI slop is everywhere. Follower count is increasingly irrelevant, and making content for the internet is, in theory, an attainable job for anyone, including people with other full-time jobs. Google recognizes that and wants those legions of people to use its phone.

Google has tried to court this demographic before, at least indirectly: Last year, it tapped Alex Cooper, host of the popular celebrity interview podcast Call Her Daddy, to make Google ads and post selfies on Instagram with the Pixel (she also promoted photo editing features at Made By Google last year). The partnership touted how Google’s ecosystem would help Cooper’s business as a content creator — scripting videos, shooting content, and keeping her team organized. Google now wants to reach the individuals who are pumping out content by themselves with just a phone.

Photography by David Imel / The Verge