Overview

• Google resumed rollout of ‘Ask Photos’ on June 26 after pausing in early June to address latency and user experience issues.
• The updated feature merges Google Photos’ traditional search with Gemini AI to return instant results for simple queries and deeper analysis for complex requests in the background.
• Access to ‘Ask Photos’ requires users to be at least 18, have their account language set to English and enable the Face Groups feature in their Google Photos settings.
• Users who prefer the original search can permanently opt out by toggling off ‘Search with Ask Photos’ in the app’s preferences.
• Apple is developing a similar AI-powered photo search tool using Apple Intelligence, underscoring growing competition in AI-driven image search.