Google Photos rolls out AI-powered 'Ask Photos' feature for smarter searches
This feature, initially announced in May, is now rolling out to English-speaking users, with support for other languages on the way.
Google Photos has long offered several ways to help you find photos in your gallery. However, these methods aren't always effective, especially when trying to locate a specific memory buried in your vast media library.
Now, Google Photos is getting a major upgrade, allowing users to search their photo libraries with natural language descriptions.
This new feature, called Ask Photos, powered by Google’s Gemini AI, brings a touch of conversational ease to Google Photos, making it easier to find exactly what you're looking for, even across thousands of photos.
Instead of relying on exact keywords or dates, you can type descriptions like, "Alice and me laughing" or "Kayaking on a lake surrounded by mountains," and the app will pull up relevant images. Think of it as a personal photo assistant that knows your memories as well as you do.
This feature, initially announced in May, is now rolling out to English-speaking users, with support for other languages on the way.
What makes this update particularly interesting is how you can now search by naming specific people, and activities, or even refining results by date or relevance.
But Ask Photos goes even further. This experimental feature leverages AI to understand the deeper context of your images. Instead of just searching, you can ask specific questions like, “What’s my license plate number?” or “What were the top 10 moments from my trip to Japan?” The AI pulls up relevant images, helps organize albums, and even offers suggestions for sharing memories.
You can refine your questions if the initial search doesn't hit the mark, creating a more interactive experience.
Henry Chikwem
At its core, Ask Photos uses Gemini AI's multimodal capabilities to analyze image content, read text within images, and deliver insightful responses. It’s a major leap forward in how we interact with our digital photos. Plus, for those worried about privacy, Google assures that no personal data is used for ads, and your interactions remain private.
Currently, Ask Photos is available to a limited number of U.S. users via a waitlist, but its potential is immense.
