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?”

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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.”

In a blog post yesterday, Google says it “heard your feedback.”

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“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.

How to opt out of Ask Photos

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.

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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.

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