Storybook: Google introduces AI-powered storytelling for Nigerian families

Google says it has introduced Storybook, a new creative tool within the Gemini app which generates short narrated stories from images, photos on phones and drawings from fridge doors by children.

The Communication and Public Affairs Manager, Google, West Africa, Mr Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, made this known in a statement on Friday.

Kola-Ogunlade said that the inauguration provided a powerful new creative tool in Nigeria, a country with a rich and deep-rooted tradition of storytelling.

He said that with a young population that included approximately 39 million children below the age of six, the need for engaging and accessible educational content was more critical than ever.

According to him, storybook is designed to help bridge this gap by empowering anyone to create personalised learning experiences.

“In a country with such a vibrant history of passing down knowledge through stories, Storybook feels like a natural evolution.

“It addresses a real need for parents and educators who are looking for fresh ways to captivate the minds of our youngest learners.

“The challenge is often in making education, interactive and personal,’’ he said.

According to him, storybook allows you to place a child directly at the centre of their own learning adventure, which is key to holding their attention and helping them grasp new concepts.

Kola-Ogunlade said: “Storybook works like a creative partner when one describes a story, adding a photo of a child and favourite toy, it will generate a 10-page illustrated tale about them.

“One can upload a drawing made by one’s child and ask Gemini to bring the creation to life in a story,” he said.

According to the Google spokesman, each book is completed with unique page to page illustrations and a narrator’s voice.

“Storytelling is fundamental to how we connect and learn, we wanted to see what happens when you give people a simple way to author their own narratives,’’ he said.

Kola-Ogunlade added that the interesting part was not the Artificial Intelligence; it was the personal expression it enabled.

He said that a father could explain his job to his children by turning his resume into an adventure, or a family could relive a holiday through a new story.

According to him, it is a canvas for those small, personal moments that are the foundation of early education.

Kola-Ogunlade said that this offered a new creative outlet for Nigerian families, allowing them to craft everything from educational tales about local culture to funny stories for friends and personalised gifts for loved ones.