Google Photos' Hidden Shortcut: Bypassing AI Search for Classic Experience

Google Photos has a hidden trick to tame its new AI search chaos

Summary Google's "Ask Photos" AI feature isn't as helpful for day-to-day searches as originally intended. Thankfully, a quick double-tap on the search icon in Google Photos can revert back to the old-school search. Unfortunately, iOS users don't have the same shortcut to switch back to the classic search mode. Google thought it was doing us a favor with its new "Ask Photos" AI feature, which was supposed to make it easier to find stuff without all the endless scrolling. You can now just type what you're looking for in regular language, and the AI tries to figure it out based on what's in your photos and the extra details. While it sounds slick, for most day-to-day searches, it hasn't been all that helpful. Related 9 Google Photos power tools that can help you find a pic in seconds The Google Photos search features you didn't know about Posts 2 Luckily, Google Photos actually left a backdoor to escape the new setup and jump back to the old-school search. As spotted by 9to5Google, a quick double-tap on the search icon instantly flips you back to the old-school search we all know (and actually miss). Regardless, the tab still says "Ask," like Google is pretending nothing happened. Even after February's Android update promised to clean up this Gemini-powered search mess, 9to5Google noticed most people are still getting stuck with the clunky 'Ask Photos' as the default. If you want the old search, you'll need to hunt down a tiny little button that says "Switch to classic search." Android users: double-tap to escape iOS? Tough luck Thankfully, this new shortcut gives you a straight shot back to the good old classic search in Google Photos. Sure, double-tapping the search icon is a pretty common move across a bunch of Android apps, but in Google Photos, it's actually super useful. It drops you right into a classic search interface that a ton of users still swear by. Unfortunately, iOS users don't get the same shortcut in Google Photos. Double-tapping still does pull up the search box if you're already in the search tab, but it just dumps you back into the "Ask Photos" mode every time. So, it's not super helpful over there. Even with its flaws, Ask Photos is still a pretty cool and creative way to dig through your photo library. It goes way beyond the usual search tricks, letting you ask super-specific stuff like, "Where did we camp last time at Yosemite?" Sure, you can type natural questions in the classic search too, but Ask Photos definitely brings something new and useful to the table.

Google Photos made search annoying, but this handy shortcut makes it better

One of the best things about Google Photos has always been its useful ability to search through your library, but the company's focus on AI introduced an admittedly impressive, but annoying new experience to search. But there's a little known shortcut in Google Photos that allows users to quickly jump back into classic search. Google Photos introduced "Ask Photos" last year as a Gemini-enhanced search option that can go much more in-depth than a typical search using natural language such as "Where did we camp last time we went to Yosemite?" and "What did we eat at the hotel in Stanley?" You can also use natural language in "classic search," but "Ask Photos" does certainly have a use case. That said, it's also pretty slow, and not as useful for most of the searches performed on a daily basis. A test earlier this year toyed around with deprioritizing "Ask Photos" on the Search tab, but the majority of users are still seeing the UI that defaults to "Ask Photos" and has a small button to "Switch to classic search." But what many don't know is that there's a handy little shortcut to jump straight into classic search in Google Photos. Double-tapping the search icon throws you directly into classic search, even though it shows "Ask" on the tab itself. This shortcut exists through a lot of Android apps and usually opens up the keyboard for a search box on a dedicated search tab, but it's all the more useful in Google Photos since it switches to the mode that most of us want to use anyway. The same gesture doesn't work in the Google Photos app for iPhone, though. You can double-tap, but the search box only pops up when you are already on that tab. Even when it does kick in, it just triggers the "Ask Photos" search anyway, making it just a bit less useful. Do you actually use "Ask Photos" on your device? Did you know about this shortcut?

Use This Shortcut to Remove AI From Google Photos Search

By default, Google Photos now uses Gemini AI to search through your photo library. This is thanks to a new feature called Ask Photos that rolled out late last year. While this feature is great for locating specific photos, it's not as fast as the older search option, so it's not ideal for every search, especially more general ones. If you're tired of using Gemini's slower search in Google Photos for Android, there's a shortcut that helps you return to the classic search functionality. As spotted by 9to5Google, you can long-press the search button (which is labelled Ask and is located in the bottom-right corner) to use the classic, faster and AI-free search method instead. Alternatively, you can double-tap the Ask button to do the same thing. And don't worry about having to change how your format your search -- the old method also supports natural language search terms. You can ask it to show "forest photos from 2023" or similar queries, and it will still generally return accurate results. Until Google improves the speed and accuracy of AI search results, the older version of search may be better for most people. There's also the question of how much energy AI tools use, which can be alarmingly high for relatively simple tasks. Google has been experimenting with the UI for Ask Photos, as some people have spotted an updated UI that reduces the screen space dedicated to AI search. However, most people in the US are still seeing a full-screen AI search page, with a small button that lets you switch to classic search being the most noticeable way to avoid it, so being aware of the shortcut to use the AI-free search is a lifesaver. That said, there are instances where Ask Photos can still be useful, such as when you're looking at old Halloween photos and need to find one where someone is wearing a Fall Guys costume. Luckily, it's easy to choose which tool to use on a case-by-case basis. Tapping the Ask button once lets you use AI search, but long-pressing or double-tapping the button will take you to the faster, AI-free alternative. Presently, this shortcut is exclusive to the Android version of Google Photos.

This Secret Shortcut Brings the Classic Search Back on Google Photos

Google Photos has a hidden shortcut that allows users to switch to the classic search experience from Ask Photos-driven search. First unveiled at Google I/O last year, the Ask Photos feature started rolling out to users in September 2024. The artificial intelligence (AI) feature allows users to make natural language queries to find relevant images from their images and videos stored in their Google Drive. Users can also converse with Gemini to locate a particular image, in case the first query does not return the right result. The shortcut was first discovered by 9to5Google. Those who do not have a Gemini Advanced subscription, have access to the classic search interface in Google Photos by default. However, those paying for the subscription get a new Ask Photos interface that replaces the traditional search interface. Ask Photos allows users to leverage Gemini's capabilities to locate a particular image by describing it. However, several users have found it slow and unreliable at times. The Ask Photos interface provides a small button in the middle of the screen to switch to the traditional search interface, but it can be inconvenient to first enter Ask Photos and then move to the older search tab. There is a faster method as well. Users can double-tap the Ask Photos icon, located in the bottom-right corner of the Google Photos interface, to quickly move to the traditional search. Since the classic search also supports natural language queries, users can find images faster in a familiar workflow. To switch back to Ask Photos, Gemini Advanced users can simply tap the Ask Photos icon one more time, and they will be taken to the AI-powered experience. The publication states that this double-tapping method does not work on the Google Photos app for iOS. Gadgets 360 staff members were not able to verify this claim. Ask Photos also lets users ask queries based on their face groups or relationships saved in the Google Photos app. Additionally, they can also search based on the location or date of the photo, the content of the image, and contextual references to the photo during a conversation with Gemini.