"In Google Photos, searching for photos using the command 'Ask Photos' provides quicker results, reducing the delay experienced with Gemini."
Google Photos' innovative AI-powered search feature, Ask Photos, has resumed its rollout with significant improvements and is now available beyond early access in the United States.
The latest update to Ask Photos addresses concerns regarding latency, response quality, and user experience that were raised during its initial rollout in September 2024. One of the key improvements is the integration of classic Google Photos search with Ask Photos, allowing for faster responses to simple queries like "dogs" or "people." While the AI Gemini models work in the background to provide more refined answers, users will see instant image recognition results.
The update also unifies the search experience, eliminating the need for users to manually switch between search types. Instead, users will see quick grid results upfront, with detailed AI responses overlaid. This change improves usability and makes the search process more intuitive.
The rollout is limited to English-based users in the U.S. who are 18 years old and above. Eligibility also requires users to have their Google Account language set to English (U.S.), have the Face Groups feature enabled in Google Photos, and meet other standard Google account requirements.
Gemini, the AI at the heart of Ask Photos, has the ability to understand queries based on people, food, and places. As it works behind the scenes, users will see a smooth Gemini animation and a text reply of the content Gemini found for them. The reworked UI, which was slightly updated earlier this year, features a "try asking" section with suggested actions.
Ask Photos allows natural language queries to find images across themes, dates, events, or even details like license plates or restaurant visits, making photo library searches more intuitive and insightful. The wider rollout aims to make the AI-powered search more responsive and widely accessible to users in the U.S.
Google is also preparing to expand its AI search for photos on Android, with the update beginning to roll out this week. The update will make Ask Photos faster at returning answers, particularly for broad queries like "beaches" or "dogs."
In summary, Google has resumed and expanded the rollout of Ask Photos with significant performance optimizations, especially for broad and simple photo queries, and a better integrated user interface, making the AI-powered search more responsive and widely accessible to users in the U.S.
Technology advancements significantly improve Google Photos' Ask Photos feature, as latency, response quality, and user experience concerns from the initial rollout in September 2024 have been addressed. The updated version integrates classic Google Photos search with Ask Photos, enabling faster responses to simple queries like "dogs" or "people," while also providing instant image recognition results through AI Gemini models.
