Google reboots its AI Ask Photos feature

It's take two for the AI search feature in Google Photos.

After pausing the rollout of Ask Photos, due to latency issues and user experience criticisms, Google is back with an improved version and expanding access (via Engadget). Previously, it was only available to select users with early access.

Ask Photos, a feature that was introduced at 2024's Google I/O, is a Gemini-powered search tool within the Google Photos app that can find images in your library using natural language search. It's touted as being capable of handling more complex queries that are indirectly related to photos you may have on file, such as "what's my license plate number?" or "what did I eat on my trip to Barcelona?"

But those complex queries incidentally slowed down results for simpler queries like "beach" or "dog," and Google paused the rollout in early June. And getting to the traditional search interface was replaced by the AI search feature, which complicated the user experience.

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On Thursday, Google shared improvements: "You’ll now see results right away while Gemini models continue to work in the background to find the most relevant photos or information for more complex queries," the announcement said. Basically, the classic search interface is back, but with Gemini.

With these improvements shipped, Google is now rolling out Ask Photos to eligible users in the U.S. To be eligible, you must be 18 years old and up, be in the U.S., have a Google account (duh), and have Face Groups turned on, which lets Google search for people and pets.