After “early access” testing got underway in October, Google Photos is now bringing Ask Photos to more eligible users in the US and making the AI search experience feel faster.
This AI experience replaces “Search” in the Google Photos bottom bar on Android and iOS. Leveraging Gemini models, the “Ask” tab lets you conversationally find images and videos, as well as get information from the contents of your library. For example: “suggest photos that’d make great phone backgrounds” or “what did I eat on my trip to Barcelona?”
Beyond complex queries, the app is now faster at responding to simple searches. Google is “bringing the best of Photos’ classic search feature into Ask Photos and improving latency, so you can get fast help with simple and complex queries in one place.”
Specifically, the app will now surface “results right away” from traditional search, while “Gemini models continue to work in the background to find the most relevant photos or information for more complex queries.” You will see a grid of images first, while Gemini loads “Best match” at the top of the screen, with a bottom sheet sliding up afterwards.
This unification replaces the existing “Switch to classic search” option, but you can still disable Ask Photos entirely from Photos Settings to get back the old experience.
As part of this launch, “Ask Photos is opening up beyond early access and starting to roll out to more eligible users in the U.S.” if you meet the following requirements:
- Be 18 or older
- Be in the United States
- Have your Google Account language set to English (United States)
- Have Face Groups turned on
More on Google Photos:
- Google Photos can ‘search for words’ and text matches in images
- Google Photos albums redesign adds Material 3 Expressive toolbar, QR code sharing
- Google Photos turns 10 with major editor redesign
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