Google Pauses Rollout of AI-Powered 'Ask Photos' Feature Due to Performance Issues

Google quietly paused the rollout of its AI-powered 'Ask Photos' search feature

Hayden Field is The Verge's senior AI reporter. An AI beat reporter for more than five years, her work has also appeared in CNBC, MIT Technology Review, Wired UK, and other outlets. Google is pausing the rollout of its AI-powered "Ask Photos" feature within Google Photos, which has been slowly expanding since last fall. "Ask Photos isn't where it needs to be," wrote Jamie Aspinall, a product manager for Google Photos, in a post on X responding to criticism, citing three factors: latency, quality, and user experience. The experimental feature is powered by Google's "most capable" Gemini AI models. Specifically, it's a specialized version of its Gemini models that are "only used for Ask Photos," according to Google. Aspinall said Google had paused the feature's rollout "at very small numbers while we address these issues," and that in about two weeks, the team would ship a better version "that brings back the speed and recall of the original search. At the same time, Google also announced Tuesday that keyword search in Photos is getting better, allowing you to use quotes to find exact text matches within "filenames, camera models, captions, or text within photos," or search without quotes to include visual matches too. Google announced the feature last May at I/O 2024, and positioned it as a way to query your Photos app for common-sense questions that another human would typically have to help with -- i.e., asking about which themes you've chosen in the past for a child's birthday party, or which national parks you've visited. "Gemini's multimodal capabilities can help understand exactly what's happening in each photo and can even read text in the image if required," the company wrote in the announcement. "Ask Photos then crafts a helpful response and picks which photos and videos to return." It's not the first time Google has paused the rollout of an AI-powered feature, as it competes in a quickly intensifying AI arms race against other tech giants and startups alike. Last May, within weeks of debuting "AI Overview" in Google Search, Google paused the feature after nonsensical and inaccurate answers went viral on social media, with no way to opt out of usage. Two high-profile examples: The feature called Barack Obama the first Muslim president of the United States, and recommended users put glue on pizza to keep the cheese on. And last February, Google rolled out Gemini's image-generation tool with a good deal of fanfare, then paused the feature that same month after users reported historical inaccuracies, such as an AI-generated image depicting the U.S. Founding Fathers as people of color.

Google has 'paused' the Ask Photos rollout

It's the company's latest AI-powered tool to have a difficult debut. If you're still waiting on access to Google's AI-driven Ask Photos feature, you'll need to hold tight a little longer. Jamie Aspinall, a product manager for Google Photos, chimed in to a conversation on X to address some complaints about the feature. "Ask Photos isn't where it needs to be, in terms of latency, quality and ux," Aspinall . He said the rollout was being paused "at very small numbers" and that a new version of Ask Photos is slated to ship in about two weeks. Ask Photos was at last year's I/O conference and began select availability in September. The feature uses the Gemini AI chatbot to find images from a photo library based on natural language queries. As with so many tech giants, Google's implementation of AI-powered features to its services has hit several snags. The AI Overviews feature in search had a to users and its image-generation tool offered some at launch. Google has also seen critiques from and about its approach to artificial intelligence.

Google's "Ask Photos" AI Feature Paused After Complaints

Be Ready for Your Next Power Outage With an Entertainment USB Stick Summary Google paused 'Ask Photos' rollout due to latency, quality, and UX issues. Conversational search powered by Gemini AI faced bumps along the way. Improved 'Ask Photos' version expected to ship in two weeks. AI is currently being jammed into everything, but there are some places where it makes more sense than others. Google was testing a feature in Google Photos that used AI to magically find any picture with a simple question. However, Google hit the pause button on its "Ask Photos" rollout. It turns out that even with the power of Gemini AI, launching a tool that understands your massive photo library isn't as simple as Google hoped. Jamie Aspinall, a product manager for Google Photos, took to the site formerly known as Twitter to explain the sudden halt. He said the Ask Photos feature isn't quite where it needs to be in terms of "latency, quality, and UX." Basically, it's not fast enough, the results aren't always spot-on, and the overall experience isn't smooth. Ask Photos was first touted as a game-changer back at last year's Google I/O, and it eventually started rolling out a few months later. The idea was that you could ask natural questions, such as, "Show me the best photos from my trip to Traverse City," which requires location awareness and some "judgement." Or something like, "What did we eat on our trip to Detroit?" and it would pull up photos you took of food. This conversational search, powered by Gemini, was supposed to make finding those moments effortless. But, as with many AI features we're seeing these days, there were some bumps along the way. A complaint from a long-time Google Photos user is what prompted Aspinall's response. The user said they found the AI search to be much slower and with "less obvious benefits" than the traditional search. Another user mentioned it can be disabled, which is true. Go to Photo settings > Preferences > Gemini features in Photos and turn off "Search with Ask Photos" to do so. If you did happen to like the feature, this isn't a permanent farewell. Aspinall stated that the rollout was paused "at very small numbers" and that an improved version of Ask Photos is expected to ship in about two weeks. So, while you'll have to wait a little longer to truly converse with your photo library, it sounds like Google is committed to getting it right. Hopefully, the next iteration will live up to the promises made last year. Source: Engadget Related Google Has Abandoned What Made People Love Google Are the days of a quick Google Search gone? Posts 38

Google Photos hits pause on Gemini-powered Ask Photos search

Summary Google has paused the rollout of Ask Photos features in Google Photos. The move comes after users complained of slow search response times and subpar results. An improved version of Ask Photos will be shipped in about two weeks from now. Google recently announced a major search upgrade in Google Photos, allowing you to search for specific text in your photos. Last year, the company also added Gemini-powered Ask Photos search to its photo backup service, which lets you find specific images using natural language search. Think "pictures of my dog eating on the sofa" or "me in a swimming pool." Google Photos started rolling out the smarter search experience in September of last year, but if it hasn't reached you or feels underwhelming or slow to use, there's a good reason why. Related 10 years on, Google Photos is the one Google service I can't live without I'd sooner switch to Yahoo than ditch Photos Posts Responding to user complaints, Google Photos product manager Jamie Aspinall revealed (via The Verge) that the Ask Photos rollout 'has been paused at very small numbers." This is due to the feature not being there "in terms of latency, quality and ux." Google is currently addressing issues with slow search response times and subpar results with Ask Photos. Aspinall says the company will ship an "improved version" with the same speed as the original search in about two weeks from now. If you already have access to Ask Photos, you can continue to use it if you don't mind the high latency. Alternatively, you can turn off the feature by diving into Google Photos settings until Google resolves the issues. Ask Photos uses Gemini's multimodal capabilities to understand the context and subject of pictures. This promises an enhanced search experience, where you can ask Google Photos to retrieve specific pictures from your library. For example, you can ask Photos to show you all the food you snapped on your last trip. Google Photos recently celebrated its tenth anniversary Close Coincidentally, Google has paused the rollout of Ask Photos just as it announced an improved classic search experience in Google Photos. The enhanced search allows you to search for text in your pictures -- you only need to add quotation marks around your query. Google Photos will then only surface pictures containing that specific keyword. Google recently also added several new features in Google Photos to celebrate its tenth anniversary. This includes a new image editor with new AI tools. It also made some Pixel 9-exclusive Photos features available to all users, like Reimagine and Auto Frame. The update also added the ability to share albums using a QR code.

Google halts Ask Photos AI feature rollout, here's why

In two weeks, Google plans to release a better version of the feature. Google has paused the rollout of its AI-powered 'Ask Photos' feature in Google Photos. This feature, which Google has been rolling out since last fall, allows users to ask questions about their photos and videos in a natural way, like "Show me the best photo from each national park I've visited." But what made Google pause the rollout? Read on to find out. On X, responding to a criticism, Jamie Aspinall- a Google Photos product manager- explained that the Ask Photos feature "isn't where it needs to be, in terms of latency, quality and ux." He added that the "rollout has been paused at very small numbers" while Google works to fix these problems. Aspinall also promised that in about two weeks, a better version would be released that restores the original speed and improves the search accuracy. The Ask Photos feature is powered by Google's "most capable" Gemini AI models, according to the tech giant. Also read: Google Pixel 10 launch date leaks and here is everything we know about the phone This isn't the first time Google has paused a new AI feature, The Verge reported. Last May, Google paused its AI Overview feature in Google Search due to inaccurate and confusing responses that spread on social media. Some mistakes included wrongly calling Barack Obama the first Muslim president and suggesting people put glue on pizza to keep cheese in place. Similarly, Google rolled out Gemini's AI image-generation tool last February, but paused it after users spotted historical inaccuracies. Meanwhile, Google has announced improvements to the keyword search function in Photos. Users can now use quotes to find exact matches in filenames, camera models, captions or text within photos. Searching without quotes will also include visual matches, making it easier to find specific pictures.