HomeGoogle Photos boosts search speed with AI upgrade
Following a brief pause due to issues, Google has enhanced its AI-powered "Ask Photos" feature in Google Photos to deliver search results more quickly and reliably.
First unveiled at last year's I/O developer conference, this feature enables users to search their photo libraries using conversational language. It leverages Google's Gemini AI to understand both the visual content and metadata of images when responding to queries.
However, initial user feedback highlighted problems with reliability and slow response times, often leaving users waiting while the AI processed.
Addressing these concerns in early June, Google Photos product manager Jamie Aspinall stated on X that "Ask Photos isn't where it needs to be, in terms of latency, quality and ux." He announced a several-week pause to restore the "speed and recall of the original search."
Image Credits:Google In a Thursday blog post, Google explained it is integrating the strengths of Photos' classic search into Ask Photos, particularly for simple terms like "beach" or "dogs." This allows results to appear instantly, mirroring the classic search experience.
Meanwhile, the AI continues working in the background to handle more complex questions and find the most relevant images.
For example, searching for "white dog" will instantly show a set of initial results. Once the AI completes its analysis, its findings appear below, potentially including introductory text that names your pet (if labeled) and shows when photos of them first appeared.
Users can still switch to the classic search interface if they prefer.
With these improvements, Google has now resumed rolling out Ask Photos to more users across the United States.
To use Ask Photos, you must be at least 18 years old, have your account language set to English, and have Face Groups enabled to identify people and pets in your library.
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Comments (1)
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![PaulTaylor]()
Esto de Google Photos sonando cada vez más a una especie de asistente personal fotográfico 😲 La idea de poder preguntarle directamente por una foto del 'collar de perlas del abuelo' o del 'pastel de cumpleaños del 2019' y que te lo encuentre... suena casi mágico. Ojalá funcione tan bien en la práctica como parece en las presentaciones. Algo me dice que la privacidad va a seguir siendo la eterna pregunta aquí, ¿no?
Following a brief pause due to issues, Google has enhanced its AI-powered "Ask Photos" feature in Google Photos to deliver search results more quickly and reliably.
First unveiled at last year's I/O developer conference, this feature enables users to search their photo libraries using conversational language. It leverages Google's Gemini AI to understand both the visual content and metadata of images when responding to queries.
However, initial user feedback highlighted problems with reliability and slow response times, often leaving users waiting while the AI processed.
Addressing these concerns in early June, Google Photos product manager Jamie Aspinall stated on X that "Ask Photos isn't where it needs to be, in terms of latency, quality and ux." He announced a several-week pause to restore the "speed and recall of the original search."
In a Thursday blog post, Google explained it is integrating the strengths of Photos' classic search into Ask Photos, particularly for simple terms like "beach" or "dogs." This allows results to appear instantly, mirroring the classic search experience.
Meanwhile, the AI continues working in the background to handle more complex questions and find the most relevant images.
For example, searching for "white dog" will instantly show a set of initial results. Once the AI completes its analysis, its findings appear below, potentially including introductory text that names your pet (if labeled) and shows when photos of them first appeared.
Users can still switch to the classic search interface if they prefer.
With these improvements, Google has now resumed rolling out Ask Photos to more users across the United States.
To use Ask Photos, you must be at least 18 years old, have your account language set to English, and have Face Groups enabled to identify people and pets in your library.
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Esto de Google Photos sonando cada vez más a una especie de asistente personal fotográfico 😲 La idea de poder preguntarle directamente por una foto del 'collar de perlas del abuelo' o del 'pastel de cumpleaños del 2019' y que te lo encuentre... suena casi mágico. Ojalá funcione tan bien en la práctica como parece en las presentaciones. Algo me dice que la privacidad va a seguir siendo la eterna pregunta aquí, ¿no?
