Google’s ‘Ask Photos’ AI Feature May Already Be Available for Use
Google’s AI-powered Ask Photos feature was announced last year , but it didn’t make a splash when it first rolled out to the public. It replaced the regular photo search feature with a Gemini AI search that often took too long when you just wanted to find photos of your pets or your car. It was such a problem that my colleagues started using a workaround that allowed them to skip Ask Photos entirely , falling back on the classic search option instead.
Google seems to have noticed this, because earlier this month the company paused the rollout of the feature altogether. According to a Google product manager , the feature was “not where it needs to be in terms of latency, quality, and UX.” Now Google is restarting that rollout again, fixing what may be Ask Photos’ biggest problem.
Ask Photos now works with simple search queries too
Ask Photos is an improved Google search feature for Google Photos that combines Gemini AI with regular photo search. So you can ask it detailed, complex questions, like “find all the photos from 2012 when I had short hair,” or “find all the photos of my old van parked on the beach.” In theory, it will understand what you’re saying (thanks to Gemini AI) and then search through your photo library to find what you’re looking for.
The problem with Ask Photos was that there was a delay, especially when searching for a single word like “cats,” “nature,” “boat,” etc. Google says it has fixed this issue, and when you use a short search phrase in Ask Photos, you will see search results instantly, just like in classic search.
Google says it has also sped up more complex searches. So when you ask for photos from a specific vacation or photos of both kids on the beach, Google will show you results faster. Presumably, you won’t have to wait forever for Gemini AI to think before you start seeing your photos.
How to try the new Ask Photos update
Google says the Ask Photos update will start rolling out to a wider range of users now. But it’s still limited to the U.S. For the feature to work, you’ll need to be 18 or older, be located in the U.S., and have English (U.S.) as your Google Account language, according to Google . You’ll also need to enable the Face Groups feature .
Once you have met all these requirements, you will have to wait until the update is ready as Google gradually expands the availability of the Ask Photos feature. Until then, you can continue to use the classic search method.