Ask Photos allows users to pose questions within Google Photos, and using Google’s Gemini AI models, the app will display results based on photo content.
Google Photos
Google Photos is introducing a new “Ask Photos” AI assistant to enhance photo searching. Announced at Google I/O 2024, this feature is now available to Google Labs users in the US.
With Ask Photos, users can ask questions directly within Google Photos, and leveraging Google’s Gemini AI models, the app will identify and display photos relevant to the query. For example, users can request a summary of their recent vacation activities or find the best photo from a party.
The feature replaces the previous “Library” tab with a new “Ask” tab, where a search bar allows for natural language questions. The process includes stages labeled “Thinking,” “Searching,” and “Reviewing,” with the Gemini logo visible throughout. If Ask Photos can’t find a matching photo, it will provide hints and details to guide the user.
Users interested in trying Ask Photos can sign up for a waitlist on Google’s website. The traditional search method remains available, but Google is also enhancing this classic search to support conversational queries and sortable results by date or relevance. The feature is currently rolling out to Android and iOS users in English, with plans to add support for additional languages soon.
Google emphasizes that Google Photos is not used for ads and is secured with industry-leading protections. The new collection page is designed to make photo and video searches more intuitive.
