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Google Unveils Music AI Sandbox Making Loops From Prompts

Producers say the AI-generated loops can make music sound 'more human.'

Headshot of Ty Pendlebury
Headshot of Ty Pendlebury
Ty Pendlebury Editor
TV and home video editor Ty Pendlebury joined CNET Australia in 2006, and moved to New York City to be a part of CNET in 2011. He tests, reviews and writes about the latest TVs and audio equipment. When he's not playing Call of Duty he's eating whatever cuisine he can get his hands on. He has a cat named after one of the best TVs ever made.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
  • Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
Ty Pendlebury
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The Music AI Sandbox announced at Google I/O 2024

Screenshot: Ty Pendlebury/CNET

Google has unveiled a new music-making tool it calls Music AI Sandbox, which enables loops to be created via AI prompts, as part of its I/O 2024 conference.

The tool, shown briefly today in a Google I/O video, appears to accept text input and provides short audio clips or "stems" based on the prompt, complete with a waveform representation of the invented sounds.

Producer Wyclef Jean described his usual process of creating loops from "crate digging" -- literally by scouring crates at record stores -- but called the Google tool an "infinite crate, it's endless."

Meanwhile Marc Rebillet, known for his viral Morning Alarm song, which he created in a bathrobe, is shown typing in a prompt which includes "viola" and "rhythmic clapping." He said using the tool enhances his music and "makes it sound, ironically, more human."

Watch this: Google Introduces New AI Tools for Music, Video and Images

Though AI music has existed for years, Sandbox is the most advanced AI music tool Google has unveiled yet. The company also introduced the new Gemini 1.5 AI tool at the I/O event.

Google did not respond immediately to CNET's query about the pricing (if applicable) and availability of the Music AI Sandbox. 

Watch the video below:

Editors' note: CNET is using an AI engine to help create a handful of stories. Reviews of AI products like this, just like CNET's other hands-on reviews, are written by our human team of in-house experts. For more, see CNET's AI policy and how we test AI.