Google has announced a new update for its Photos service, which makes searching for Google Photos much easier. Users can now search for Photos in Google Photos with detailed descriptions. Furthermore, Google has also opened up early access to Ask Photos for users in the United States.
“Starting today, you can find what you’re looking for using everyday language,” said Google in a blog post. For example, you can search for specific photos in a natural, descriptive way, like “Alice and me laughing,” “Kayaking on a lake surrounded by mountains” or “Emma painting in the backyard.”
Additionally, you can choose whether to sort your search results by date or relevance, helping you find the specific image you’re looking for even faster. The improved search experience is rolling out in English to all users on Android and iOS and will expand to more languages over the coming weeks.
Early Access to Ask Photos
Further, early access to Ask Photos is rolling out to select U.S. users as part of Google Labs. Google first announced the ‘Ask Photos’ feature during its I/O 2024 event. “This experimental experience is a step beyond our improved search experience,” said Google.
The feature uses the latest Gemini models. It can understand the context of your photo gallery—like the most important people in your life, hobbies, or favourite foods—and extract relevant details to help you find “specific memories and uncover information about your life.”
Google explained how the feature works with an example: If you are trying to plan your next camping trip and want to return to a favourite site, you could ask, “Where did we camp last time we went to Yosemite?” Or if you want to go back to a restaurant you enjoyed and order the same thing, just ask, “What did we eat at the hotel in Stanley?”
Ask Photos to understand details, like where you took photos with your camping gear or what dish is sitting on the table in your picture at the restaurant, to give you the answer. And because Ask Photos is conversational, if it doesn’t find the right answer immediately, you can provide it extra context to point it in the right direction.
Thanks to Gemini models, Ask Photos can also help you get tasks done more easily. For example, you can ask for suggestions for the best photos from your birthday party for a shared album or help summarizing the top things you did on your recent trip to share with a friend.
To protect users’ privacy, Google notes that your data in Google Photos is never used for ads and is protected by its industry-leading security measures. “To help us improve Ask Photos, queries may be reviewed by humans, but only after being disconnected from your Google Account to protect your privacy,” said the company.
Early access to Ask Photos is rolling out to select users in the U.S. beginning today. To request early access, Sign up for the waitlist. The feature will roll out broadly in the coming months.