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Google has made it much easier to search the Photos app, including through an early access Ask Photos feature that uses Gemini AI to answer questions.
A limited number of US users can now try the Ask Photos experiment to find pictures relevant to queries. If you’re wondering what you ate at the restaurant during your vacation to Hawaii, for instance, you’ll see the pictures you took of your dinner plate.
You can even use the AI to suggest the best photos from an event, or to summarize what you did in your travels. It’s also possible to “nudge” the AI with extra details if it doesn’t get the answer right on the first try, Google says.
Ever spent hours looking for a photo or information hidden in your gallery? 🤦Now, you can just Ask Photos! Google Photos just leveled up your search game with the help of Gemini’s latest models. Join the waitlist today: https://t.co/Tqof77D57v #GooglePhotos #AskPhotos pic.twitter.com/6kBDSESt4S
— Google Photos (@googlephotos) September 5, 2024
You can sign up for a waitlist if you want to use the feature. Google doesn’t say when it expects to widen the rollout, but vows to “get this experience right” before making it available to more people.
Everyone, meanwhile, gets a natural-language Google Photos search option. Rather than looking for keywords, you can describe a scene (such as “kayaking on a lake surrounded by mountains”) to get an exact result. You can use formal names and sort the output by date or relevance.
The upgraded Photos search will reach English users on Android and iOS starting today. More languages will be available in the “coming weeks,” Google says.
The timing for the advanced searches might be apt. Google just launched its AI-centric Pixel 9 phones, and Ask Photos is another selling point. It also arrives just days before Apple’s iPhone 16 event, where the company is expected to set a release date for iOS 18 and revamped Photos software that uses AI for natural language search and highlight movies.
The Gemini-based additions to Photos won’t necessarily give Google an edge. They do, however, suggest that Apple and Google are in a close race to put AI into their photo apps. That’s good news for everyday users who might need to sift through thousands of pictures to find an important moment.
