Google Photos Enhances Search with AI Integration: Balancing Speed and Complexity

Google Photos merges classic search with AI to speed up results | TechCrunch

After Google temporarily paused the rollout of its buggy AI-powered "Ask Photos" feature in Google Photos, the company announced that it has improved the feature's ability to quickly return search results. The AI feature, first introduced at Google's I/O developer conference last year, allows users to search across their collection of digital photos using natural language queries. Leveraging Google's Gemini, Ask Photos taps into the AI's ability to understand a photo's content and its other metadata when responding to input. However, users complained the AI feature wasn't reliable and was often slow to respond while the AI was "thinking." Addressing these concerns, Google Photos product manager Jamie Aspinall wrote on X earlier in June that "Ask Photos isn't where it needs to be, in terms of latency, quality and ux," and noted the rollout would be paused for a couple of weeks while Google worked to bring back the "speed and recall of the original search." In a short blog post published on Thursday, Google says it's bringing the best of Photos' classic search feature into Ask Photos, particularly for simple searches like "beach" or "dogs." This allows the search results to display more quickly, as classic search did before. The AI, in the meantime, will work in the background to find the most relevant photos and work to answer more complex queries. For instance, if you search for a photo of a "white dog," a series of initial search results immediately appear. After the AI finishes its analysis, its results will appear below, along with some introductory text that may identify your dog by name, if you've added it, and tell you when photos of the animal first appeared. The interface still allows you to switch to classic search if you prefer. As a result of these changes, Google has now resumed the rollout of Ask Photos to more people across the U.S. To be eligible to use Ask Photos, you must be 18 or older, and your account language must be set to English. You must also enable Face Groups, the feature that labels the people and pets found in the Google Photos library.

Google just fixed its AI 'Ask Photos' feature, but you can still opt out - here's how

After hitting pause three weeks ago, Google is resuming rollout of its AI-powered Ask Photos feature. This time around, the company says, things should be better. Last fall, Google slowly began rolling out a new feature that lets you ask queries to find particular pictures in your Photos app. You might ask something like, "Where was that restaurant we ate at in San Francisco?" or "Show me all the selfies I took in NYC museums," and Gemini will find what you're looking for. You can even ask open-ended queries like "Which of my photos would make the best phone background?" Also: 10 must-try Google Photos tips and tricks - including a new AI editor A full rollout began earlier this month, but user complaints quickly piled up. Ask Photos often didn't find the right photos, and when it did, it was painfully slow. A project manager at Google admitted, "Ask Photos isn't where it needs to be." The problems seemed to be ongoing, as ZDNET Senior Editor Sabrina Ortiz tested Ask Photos in February and had similar complaints, saying, "'Ask Photos' actually made Google Photos worse." "We're bringing the best of Photos' classic search feature into Ask Photos," the company said today, "and improving latency, so you can get fast help with simple and complex queries in one place." You'll now see results right away for simple searches like "beach" or "pizza," while Gemini works in the background on more complex ones. Google seems to be convinced the feature is working as intended. Earlier this month, there was an easy way to switch back to classic search when you were trying to find something. Now that quick option is gone, but you can still opt out for good. Also: This simple trick helps me tame my chaotic camera roll in just a few minutes Tap your profile picture in the upper right-hand corner of the Photos app and go to Settings, then Preferences, then Gemini features in Google Photos. There, you'll see a "Search with Ask Photos" toggle. Turn it off, and you're back to classic search. Get the morning's top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.

Google is rolling out its AI-powered 'Ask Photos' search again - and it has a speed boost

Jay Peters is a news editor covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme. After quietly pausing the rollout of Google Photos' AI-powered "Ask Photos" search tool, Google is now expanding access once again and making some improvements to the feature. Google's Gemini AI models power Ask Photos so that you can ask complex questions to help you find photos. But earlier this month, a member of the Google Photos team said on X that the feature "isn't where it needs to be, in terms of latency, quality and UX." In a blog post published Thursday, Google said that it has "heard your feedback" that the feature should "return more photos faster for simple searches, like 'beach' or 'dogs.'" Now, "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," according to Google. The company adds that the feature is now "opening up beyond early access" and is beginning to roll out to more "eligible users" in the US.

Google just gave its Photos app the feature upgrade it deserves - here's what's new

After hitting pause three weeks ago, Google is resuming rollout of its AI-powered Ask Photos feature. This time around, the company says, things should be better. Last fall, Google slowly began rolling out a new feature that lets you ask queries to find particular pictures in your Photos app. You might ask something like, "Where was that restaurant we ate at in San Francisco?" or "Show me all the selfies I took in NYC museums," and Gemini will find what you're looking for. You can even ask open-ended queries like "Which of my photos would make the best phone background?" Also: 10 must-try Google Photos tips and tricks - including a new AI editor A full rollout began earlier this month, but user complaints quickly piled up. Ask Photos often didn't find the right photos, and when it did, it was painfully slow. A project manager at Google admitted, "Ask Photos isn't where it needs to be." The problems seemed to be ongoing, as ZDNET Senior Editor Sabrina Ortiz tested Ask Photos in February and had similar complaints, saying, "'Ask Photos' actually made Google Photos worse." "We're bringing the best of Photos' classic search feature into Ask Photos," the company said today, "and improving latency, so you can get fast help with simple and complex queries in one place." You'll now see results right away for simple searches like "beach" or "pizza," while Gemini works in the background on more complex ones. Google seems to be convinced the feature is working as intended. Earlier this month, there was an easy way to switch back to classic search when you were trying to find something. Now that quick option is gone, but you can still opt out for good. Also: This simple trick helps me tame my chaotic camera roll in just a few minutes Tap your profile picture in the upper right-hand corner of the Photos app and go to Settings, then Preferences, then Gemini features in Google Photos. There, you'll see a "Search with Ask Photos" toggle. Turn it off, and you're back to classic search. Get the morning's top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.

Google Photos Is Merging Its Classic Search With AI to Find Images Faster

Google Photos had been experimenting with AI searches for the best part of a year before the AI-powered beta was rolled back earlier this month. Now, Google is ready for more people to get access. The feature is called Ask Photos, originally revealed at Google I/O 2024, and it allows for more intuitive searches. Google's own examples of searches that work include "suggest photos that'd make great phone backgrounds" or "what did I eat on my trip to Barcelona?" The app will then use Google Gemini models to help it figure out what you're looking for. For that second query, it will find the location of your photos, find images of food logged in Barcelona, and then present them all at once. Normally, you'd have to search for the word Barcelona, or the dates of your travel, and then you'd get everything from the trip rather than just photos of food. Ask Photos has been in its beta phase since September last year, but earlier this month the company rolled back testing due to negative feedback. One of Google's product managers said the feature wasn't "where it needs to be" and the company wanted to work on "latency, quality and ux." Google's latest announcement suggests the biggest problem had been how it slowed down simpler searches. It appears even traditional searches were running through the Gemini models, which made it slower at answering queries that were previously fast for the app to complete. Google's latest blog post says, "We've also heard your feedback that it should return more photos faster for simple searches, like "beach" or "dogs. To address this, we're bringing the best of Photos' classic search feature into Ask Photos and improving latency, so you can get fast help with simple and complex queries in one place." When you get access to the Asks Photos features, you'll be getting a combination of the original search alongside the AI-powered results when you ask more complex queries. The feature is now beginning to rollout to those around the US, but the company has yet to share when it will arrive for everyone.

Google tweaked its AI-powered Ask Photos feature and restarted its rollout

Google has improved its AI-powered Ask Photos feature and is restarting its rollout to eligible users in the US. The company paused the launch of Ask Photos in early June over issues with latency and the feature's interface. To make Ask Photos speedier, especially on simple searches for dogs or people, Google says its essentially combining the old Google Photos search with Ask Photos. While Google's Gemini models work in the background, the app can now quickly return basic image recognition-based results for searches. Once the more complex Gemini responses are complete, they're automatically displayed. Announced at Google I/O 2024, Ask Photos uses AI to let you search through your Google Photos library with natural language queries. Besides structuring results as a chat, Google imagines the featuring being useful for sourcing information that you might not even realize your photo library is storing. You could search for your license plate number, for example, or the restaurant you visited on a specific birthday. Google started rolling out Ask Photos in September 2024, though the early version of the feature was annoying to deal with. Besides being slow to return responses, it also replaced the faster, more traditional search in the app's menu bar. If you want to access normal search results you have to tap through multiple layers of the Google Photos interface. The new approach splits the difference by combining the results. Ask Photos is once again rolling out to Google Photos eligible users. In order to receive the new feature, you need to be at least 18 years old, based in the US, have a Google Account with the language set to English and have the Google Photos "Face Groups" feature turned on.

Google's new and improved Ask Photos is back on track -- and rolling out now!

Earlier this month we heard the rollout was paused while Google worked to address a few issues, but today it's back on track. Over the past couple years, AI has been changing the way we do lots of things, and while there is absolutely no shortage of controversial uses of the tech, there are also some places where employing it just makes all the sense in the world. Back at I/O 2024, Google announced one of those really clever-sounding use cases, with Ask Photos for Google Photos promising to make your gigantic archive of pics actually useful by letting you search through it using natural language. After a very bumpy year, it finally sounds like Ask Photos is now ready to live up to its potential.

Google Photo's AI Search Is Back -- Here's How to Turn It Off

Summary Google Photos' "Ask Photos" feature returns after a temporary pause due to poor results and speed. "Ask Photos" allows users to find photos using natural language prompts, expands on existing search functionality. Users can easily disable "Ask Photos" if they prefer traditional search results through the app's settings. Earlier this month, Google paused the "Ask Photos" feature in Google Photos after people complained about poor results and slow speed. It's been a few weeks now, and the feature is rolling back out. If you still don't like it, the feature can easily be disabled. The idea of "Ask Photos" is that you're supposed to be able to find photos in your library with natural language prompts. For example, you could say, "Show me the best photos from my trip to Traverse City," which requires location awareness and some judgment." Or something like, "What did we eat on our trip to Detroit?" and it would pull up photos you took of food while located in the city. Related The Google Photos Editor Just Got a Big Revamp Google Photos is turning 10 years old. It has changed a lot over the past years, but it remains the first choice for photo management for millions of Android phones worldwide, and with good reason. And now, Google is rolling out an anniversary update that adds a few new things to the table. Posts The functionality isn't entirely different than what has existed in Google Photos for a while now. The food prompt, for example, is nothing new. You could search with a basic phrase like "food in Detroit," and it would give you the same results. The infusion of Gemini AI is more for the types of queries that require more complex "thought" and "judgment." When "Ask Photos" rolls out to your device, you'll notice the "Search" tab is replaced with an "Ask" tab. One of the primary complaints -- and the reason why Google paused the initial rollout -- was about how long it took for results to appear. To solve that, Google Photos will first deliver results with the traditional search, then the Gemini results will appear as the "Best Match" after processing. Thankfully, if you prefer the traditional search results, it's now easier to disable the Gemini results entirely from the Settings. Tap your profile icon in the top corner and go to Photos Settings > Preferences > Gemini Features in Photos. There are a few options here, but the main one to disable is "Search with Ask Photos." In order for the "Ask Photos" feature to appear on your account, you must be 18 years or older, in the U.S., account language set to English (United States), and have Face Groups enabled. This is a server-side switch, so you can't get it by updating the app. Source: 9to5Google Related Google Has Abandoned What Made People Love Google For many of us, Google was the gateway to the internet. It was a clean, inviting homepage -- an oasis among the chaotic web of the late 90s. That simple, efficient elegance was what made Google popular, but somewhere along the way, that guiding principle was abandoned. Posts 58

Google Photos makes 'Ask Photos' faster and begins wider roll out

This AI experience replaces the "Search" tab in the Google Photos bottom bar on Android and iOS. Leveraging Gemini models, "Ask" lets you conversationally find images and videos, as well as get information from the contents of your Photos library. For example: "suggest photos that'd make great phone backgrounds" or "what did I eat on my trip to Barcelona?" Beyond complex queries, Google is now updating Ask Photos so that it's faster at responding to simple searches. Google is "bringing the best of Photos' classic search feature into Ask Photos and improving latency, so you can get fast help with simple and complex queries in one place." Specifically, Ask Photos will now surface "results right away" from traditional search, while "Gemini models continue to work in the background to find the most relevant photos or information for more complex queries." You will see a grid of images first, while Gemini loads at the top of the screen, with a sheet sliding up afterwards. As part of this launch, "Ask Photos is opening up beyond early access and starting to roll out to more eligible users in the U.S." if you meet the following requirements:

How to turn off AI search in Google Photos

Google Photos is now rolling out an updated version of its "Ask Photos" search experience, but also a way to disable it altogether. Here's how to turn off AI search in Google Photos. "Ask Photos" first launched in late 2024 as an AI-powered way to navigate the depths of your Google Photos library. It had some great ideas, such as being able to search for specific events using the names of people that Photos can recognize, but it was also notoriously slow. Google ended up pausing the rollout for a while to rework the system, and that's not available. The updated "Ask Photos" experience in Google Photos is cleaner and faster. It shows results almost immediately, much like the legacy search, while then generating its AI results after the fact to expand on the search. It's a good compromise on Google's part, but it's also still technically optional. In an increasingly rare move for tech in general, Google Photos will just let you turn off AI search altogether. That is, the Gemini-integrated search. Photos has always used AI in search to some extent, but updated options let you turn off the newer stuff. First things first, you'll need the latest Google Photos update. Google is rolling out these options via a server-side update, meaning you just need to be on the latest Google Photos version for Android or iOS and then just wait your turn. On Android, you might be able to get the feature faster by force-closing the app. If you have the update, you'll want to tap on your profile picture and look for "Photos settings." On that page, tap "Preferences" and then "Gemini features in Photos." This updated section has several options within, but the one we're specifically looking for is the toggle for "Search with Ask Photos." Turning this setting off makes it possible to quickly and fully disable "Ask Photos." Once flipped, the "Ask" button on the Photos bottom bar converts to "Search" and you'll get the classic UI. As mentioned, this is a server-side rollout that's still ongoing, so you might not see these options just yet. It's certainly nice to have the choice, as the previous alternative was a relatively obscure shortcut.

Google's 'Ask Photos' AI search is back and should be better than ever -- what we know

Google's "Ask Photos" feature is back, after the rollout was put on hold thanks to various quality and performance issues. Now the company has confirmed things are getting back on track, and with some much needed improvements. Google published a new blog post confirming this news, and declaring that it has "heard your feedback" about the state of Ask Photos. Now, with the rollout resuming, Google claims that it should start producing much faster search results -- and better support for more complex searches. This means search results should appear immediately, while Gemini works in the background to find "the most relevant photos or information for more complex queries." Ask Photos initially started rolling out last September as an experimental feature powered by the "most capable" Gemini AI models. The point was that it would be better able to understand what was actually going on in your pictures, and bring them to you when asked. According to Google the AI was only used for Ask Photos, which meant it should have been quite good at its job. However the quality wasn't quite there, and earlier this month Google "paused" the rollout in response to criticism about latency, quality and the overall user experience. So earlier this month the Google Photos product manager took to Twitter (yes, I know, it's called X now) to say they paused the rollout, promising a better version would be on the way in around two weeks. Now that better version is here, and hopefully it at least addresses some of the concerns people had. Google seems confident at least, and has promised that the new and improved Ask Photos will be opening up "beyond early access" and will be available for more eligible users in the U.S.

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. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. 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.

Google Resumes Rollout of AI-Based 'Ask Photos' Image Search

Google has resumed the rollout of its AI-powered "Ask Photos" feature in Google Photos after a pause. The company is also making some updates to how it works. Google announced the "Ask Photos" feature last May at I/O 2024 and positioned it as AI-powered feature within Google Photos that would let users search their photo library using natural language questions, similar to how you would ask another person. With Ask Photos, users can submit various queries such as "Show me the best photo from each national park I've visited," or "What themes have we had for Lena's birthday parties." The idea is to let users search their library beyond relying on keywords, dates, or location details. At the time, the company said that the feature uses a special version of Google's most advanced Gemini AI, built just for Ask Photos. As reported by The Verge, Google paused the rollout of its AI-powered "Ask Photos" earlier this month, with the Google Photos product manager saying on X (formerly Twitter) that the tool "isn't where it needs to be in terms of latency, quality, and UX." However, in a blog post published on Thursday, Google announced that it is rolling out Ask Photos again, and that the tool should now perform faster for simpler searches. "Ask Photos uses Gemini models to answer complex queries like these, but we've also heard your feedback that it should return more photos faster for simple searches, like 'beach' or 'dogs.'" To do this Google says it is combining the speed of the old Google Photos search with the power of their new AI tool Ask Photos to create a smoother, faster experience. "To address this, we're bringing the best of Photos' classic search feature into Ask Photos and improving latency, so you can get fast help with simple and complex queries in one place," the company writes 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. Google says that the Ask Photos feature is now "opening up beyond early access" and will start to roll out to more "eligible users" in the U.S.

Google's AI 'Ask Photos' Feature May Actually Be Usable Now

Khamosh Pathak is freelancer tech journalist with over 13 years of experience writing online. Google's AI-powered Ask Photos feature was announced last year, but failed to make a splash when it started rolling out to the public. It replaced the regular photo search feature with a Gemini AI search that, often, took too much time when you just wanted to find photos of your pets, or your car. This was such an issue that my colleagues starting using a workaround that let them skip Ask Photos entirely, shifting back to the classic search option instead. Google seems to have noticed, because early this month, the company paused the rollout of the feature altogether. According to a Google Product Manager, the feature wasn't "where it needs to be, in terms of latency, quality and ux." Now, Google is resuming that rollout again, fixing what was perhaps the biggest issue with Ask Photos. Ask Photos is Google's upgraded search feature for Google Photos that combines Gemini AI and regular photo search. So, you can ask it detailed and complex questions like, "find all the photos from 2012 when I had short hair," or "find all the photos of my old van parked at the beach." In theory, it would understand what you're saying (thanks to Gemini AI), and then go about your photo library finding what you're looking for. The problem with Ask Photos was its latency, especially when it came to single word searches, like "cats," "nature," "boat," and so on. Google says that it's fixed this issue, and when you use a short search phrase in Ask Photos, you'll see search results instantly, like you do in classic search. Google says that it's made more complex searches faster, too. So when you ask for photos from a particular vacation, or photos with both your kids on the beach, Google will show you the results more quickly. Supposedly, you won't have to wait forever for Gemini AI to think before you start seeing your photos. Google says that the Ask Photos update will start to roll out to a wider set of users now. But it's still limited to the US. According to Google, you will need to be 18 or older, be based in the United States, and have your Google Account language set to English (United States) for this feature to work. Plus, you'll also need to have the Face Groups feature enabled. Once you meet all these requirements, it's going to be a waiting game fro you to get the update, as Google is slowly expanding the availability of the Ask Photos feature. Until then, you can continue to use the classic search method.

Google Photos Adds Clever Fix for Its Slow "Ask Photos" AI Feature

We may earn a commission when you click links to retailers and purchase goods. More info. Earlier in the month, Google admitted that its "Ask Photos" search feature within Google Photos was not exactly meeting expectations and they were pausing its rollout. They also noted that an improved version of this should begin to rollout within a couple of weeks and we're now ready for that to happen. In other words, the pause is done and a bigger rollout is happening with a better version. Google Photos "Ask Photos" fix: In a short blog post today, Google says they listened to feedback on needing a quicker search option alongside Ask Photos to return faster results for simpler searches. Their idea here is to combine the old classic search with Ask Photos, allowing it to perform both search types. You'll see super quick search results right away while Gemini does its AI magic in the background before returning its results. The idea sounds much nicer than the two separate search options we had to toggle between before in order to get faster results or the AI-powered ones. We haven't tested this yet, but Google says they are opening it up beyond early access and rolling it out to "eligible users" in the US right away. Let us know if you see it.

Google Photos now uses AI to improve photo searches

Google Photos has modified its AI-powered "Ask Photos" feature, initially introduced at Google I/O the previous year, by integrating classic search functionalities to enhance result delivery speed following a temporary pause in its rollout. The "Ask Photos" feature, leveraging Google's Gemini AI, processes natural language queries to analyze photo content and associated metadata. This capability allows the system to comprehend complex user requests regarding their digital photo collections. However, user feedback indicated significant issues with the feature's reliability and response time, with some noting delays as the AI processed requests. Jamie Aspinall, a Google Photos product manager, acknowledged these concerns on X earlier in June, stating that "Ask Photos isn't where it needs to be, in terms of latency, quality and ux," and confirmed a temporary two-week suspension of the rollout to restore the "speed and recall of the original search." Google has addressed these performance issues by incorporating elements of its classic photo search into "Ask Photos," particularly for straightforward queries such as "beach" or "dogs." This integration facilitates quicker display of initial search results, mirroring the efficiency of the previous classic search interface. Concurrently, the AI component operates in the background, conducting deeper analyses to identify highly relevant photos and formulate responses to more intricate inquiries. For example, a search for a "white dog" will instantly yield a series of preliminary search results. Subsequent to the AI's analytical completion, its refined results are presented below the initial output, often accompanied by introductory text that may include details such as a dog's name, if provided by the user, and the earliest appearance dates of photos featuring the animal. The interface also retains an option for users to revert to the classic search function if preferred. As a direct consequence of these enhancements, Google has recommenced the phased deployment of "Ask Photos" to an expanded user base across the United States. Eligibility requirements for using "Ask Photos" mandate that users must be at least 18 years of age, have their Google account language configured to English, and activate the "Face Groups" feature, which is responsible for identifying and labeling individuals and pets within the Google Photos library.