{"id":30894,"date":"2012-12-07T23:54:51","date_gmt":"2012-12-07T18:24:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=30894"},"modified":"2026-10-14T19:32:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T14:02:38","slug":"google-drive-free-stock-images","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2012\/12\/google-drive-free-stock-images\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Add Free Stock Images in Google Docs and Slides (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You can add <strong>free stock images in Google Docs and Slides<\/strong> without leaving the document. Google first added 5,000 free stock photos to Google Drive in December 2012, picked with help from users from the Thinkstock collection. That old Drive search is gone, but in 2026 the same idea lives on as the Stock &amp; web image panel, and paid Google plans can even create images with Gemini.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> In Google Slides or Docs, click Insert &gt; Image &gt; Stock &amp; web, search for a word such as &#8220;office&#8221; or &#8220;mountains&#8221;, and click a stock photo, GIF or sticker to add it. Other options in the same menu are Upload from computer, Drive &amp; Photos, Camera and By URL. In Slides with an eligible Gemini plan, use Insert &gt; Help me visualize &gt; Image to generate a new picture.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ae86202f09d3\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ae86202f09d3\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2012\/12\/google-drive-free-stock-images\/#How_to_add_free_stock_images_in_Google_Slides\" >How to add free stock images in Google Slides<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2012\/12\/google-drive-free-stock-images\/#How_to_add_stock_images_in_Google_Docs_and_Sheets\" >How to add stock images in Google Docs and Sheets<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2012\/12\/google-drive-free-stock-images\/#Other_ways_to_insert_images\" >Other ways to insert images<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2012\/12\/google-drive-free-stock-images\/#Create_images_with_Gemini_in_Google_Slides\" >Create images with Gemini in Google Slides<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2012\/12\/google-drive-free-stock-images\/#Can_you_use_these_stock_images_freely\" >Can you use these stock images freely?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2012\/12\/google-drive-free-stock-images\/#Tips_for_using_stock_images_in_Docs_and_Slides\" >Tips for using stock images in Docs and Slides<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2012\/12\/google-drive-free-stock-images\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2012\/12\/google-drive-free-stock-images\/#Does_Google_Drive_still_have_5000_free_stock_images\" >Does Google Drive still have 5,000 free stock images?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2012\/12\/google-drive-free-stock-images\/#Where_is_the_stock_images_option_in_Google_Slides\" >Where is the stock images option in Google Slides?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2012\/12\/google-drive-free-stock-images\/#Are_Google_Slides_stock_images_free\" >Are Google Slides stock images free?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_add_free_stock_images_in_Google_Slides\"><\/span>How to add free stock images in Google Slides<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Open a presentation in <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/presentation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Slides<\/a> and click the slide where you want the picture.<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>Insert &gt; Image &gt; Stock &amp; web<\/strong>. A panel opens on the right.<\/li>\n<li>Type what you need, for example &#8220;teamwork&#8221; or &#8220;beach&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li>Leave the filter on <em>All<\/em>, or switch it to show only stock images, GIFs or stickers.<\/li>\n<li>Click an item to drop it on the slide, then drag a corner to resize it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-30895\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/free-stock-images.jpg\" alt=\"Free stock images search results in Google Docs and Slides\" width=\"499\" height=\"348\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/free-stock-images.jpg 499w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/free-stock-images-300x209.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 499px) 100vw, 499px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_add_stock_images_in_Google_Docs_and_Sheets\"><\/span>How to add stock images in Google Docs and Sheets<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Open the file from <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Drive<\/a>, click <strong>Insert &gt; Image<\/strong> and pick <strong>Stock &amp; web<\/strong> (some apps and older menus call it <em>Search the web<\/em>). Search, click the image you want, and click Insert. In Sheets you can place the image over cells or inside a cell. Google&#8217;s help page on <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/docs\/answer\/97447?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">inserting images<\/a> lists every option.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Other_ways_to_insert_images\"><\/span>Other ways to insert images<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Upload from computer:<\/strong> your own photos or screenshots.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Drive &amp; Photos:<\/strong> pictures already saved in Google Drive or Google Photos. You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2012\/12\/save-images-screenshots-to-google-drive\/\">save images and screenshots from websites to Google Drive<\/a> first.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Camera:<\/strong> take a photo with your webcam or phone camera.<\/li>\n<li><strong>By URL:<\/strong> paste the link of an image, including a GIF.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Create_images_with_Gemini_in_Google_Slides\"><\/span>Create images with Gemini in Google Slides<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If your Google Workspace or Google AI plan includes Gemini, Slides can make an image for you: click <strong>Insert &gt; Help me visualize &gt; Image<\/strong>, describe the picture, choose a style and aspect ratio, and click Create. See Google&#8217;s guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/docs\/answer\/16443280?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">generating images with Gemini in Slides<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_you_use_these_stock_images_freely\"><\/span>Can you use these stock images freely?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Stock &amp; web results are meant for use inside your documents and presentations. Web results come from other sites and may be copyrighted, so check the source before you reuse an image in a blog post or ad. For pictures you can publish anywhere, use the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/12\/best-free-images-stock-photos-sites\/\">best free stock photo sites<\/a>, which offer images under free licenses.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tips_for_using_stock_images_in_Docs_and_Slides\"><\/span>Tips for using stock images in Docs and Slides<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Search in simple words:<\/strong> one or two nouns (&#8220;laptop desk&#8221;, &#8220;city night&#8221;) give better results than long phrases.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keep one style:<\/strong> use photos with similar colours and lighting across a deck so the slides look like one set.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Crop instead of stretching:<\/strong> click the image, then use the crop tool or Format options so faces and objects are not distorted.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Add alt text:<\/strong> right-click the image and choose Alt text, so screen readers can describe it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Compress big decks:<\/strong> many large photos slow down a presentation; use only the images that support your point.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Does_Google_Drive_still_have_5000_free_stock_images\"><\/span>Does Google Drive still have 5,000 free stock images?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>No. The 2012 Drive stock image collection was replaced by the Stock &amp; web panel inside Docs, Sheets and Slides.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Where_is_the_stock_images_option_in_Google_Slides\"><\/span>Where is the stock images option in Google Slides?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Click Insert &gt; Image &gt; Stock &amp; web. Search results show stock photos, GIFs and stickers.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Are_Google_Slides_stock_images_free\"><\/span>Are Google Slides stock images free?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes, they are free to add to your files. For use outside Google Docs and Slides, check each image&#8217;s license.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You can add free stock images in Google Docs and Slides without leaving the document. Google first added 5,000 free&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":30895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[49],"class_list":["post-30894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-google","tag-tutorials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30894"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66522,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30894\/revisions\/66522"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}