Pangram expands AI detection to images and video

Pangram, a startup best known for detecting AI-written text, released Pangram Image 1.0 on Wednesday, Nov. 4. The image model replaces a research preview from earlier this year, and the company also released a companion model built to detect AI-generated video. With the launch, Pangram's product line now covers images and video as well as text. CEO Max Spero said the move responds to AI imagery that is getting harder to spot.pangram.com+1

Two new models

The flagship Pangram Image 1.0 produces a heatmap showing where AI content appears in an image. Pangram says it holds up against edits, compression and low resolutions. The company lowered the minimum image size from 512×512 to 256×256 pixels, though results below 512 pixels come with a reduced-confidence disclaimer. Pangram reported 99.96% accuracy on an internal test set of 1,200 synthetic images, made with 12 frontier generators that mirrored 100 real photos.pangram.com

The second model, Pangram Image Flash 1.0, is a smaller, faster model aimed at video. It analyzes clips frame by frame. Pangram said it scored 98.7% on the DF26 academic benchmark, 29 points ahead of the next-best detector. Both models are now part of Pangram's Chrome extension, which flags AI content on social media, shopping sites and rental listings. They are also available through the company's API.pangram.com

Why Pangram moved beyond text

Spero told Pirate Wires that the company started work on image detection at the beginning of the year. He pointed to people trying to "create a hoax or create fake Iran war drone footage." He also said detection could be useful on platforms like Amazon Amazon.com, Inc. ↗ 6.12%, where ads increasingly use AI-generated images. Pangram tested existing detectors first. "We ran our benchmark and found that most of them, they kind of sucked, like 80 to 95% accuracy," Spero said.piratewires.com

The July research preview reported 99.5% accuracy on an internal benchmark, against 98% for the closest of five commercial competitors. At that stage, Pangram said it could not reliably detect deepfakes or face swaps. The preview came out alongside Pangram 4, the company's text detector, and a $9 million funding round led by Menlo Ventures.thedailystar.net+1

Arriving late on purpose

Pangram is not first to this market. Competitors such as TruthScan have offered image and video detection since 2025 or earlier. Spero said the delay was deliberate. "We've been very careful with our release cadence to make sure we only release something that we think is truly state-of-the-art by a large margin," he said.piratewires.com