Summary

  • Google has paused the rollout of Ask Photos features in Google Photos.
  • The move comes after users complained of slow search response times and subpar results.
  • An improved version of Ask Photos will be shipped in about two weeks from now.

Google recently announced a major search upgrade in Google Photos, allowing you to search for specific text in your photos. Last year, the company also added Gemini-powered Ask Photos search to its photo backup service, which lets you find specific images using natural language search. Think “pictures of my dog eating on the sofa” or “me in a swimming pool.” Google Photos started rolling out the smarter search experience in September of last year, but if it hasn’t reached you or feels underwhelming or slow to use, there’s a good reason why.

Google Photos

Responding to user complaints, Google Photos product manager Jamie Aspinall revealed (via The Verge) that the Ask Photos rollout ‘has been paused at very small numbers.” This is due to the feature not being there “in terms of latency, quality and ux.”

Google is currently addressing issues with slow search response times and subpar results with Ask Photos. Aspinall says the company will ship an “improved version” with the same speed as the original search in about two weeks from now.

If you already have access to Ask Photos, you can continue to use it if you don’t mind the high latency. Alternatively, you can turn off the feature by diving into Google Photos settings until Google resolves the issues.

Ask Photos uses Gemini’s multimodal capabilities to understand the context and subject of pictures. This promises an enhanced search experience, where you can ask Google Photos to retrieve specific pictures from your library. For example, you can ask Photos to show you all the food you snapped on your last trip.

Google Photos recently celebrated its tenth anniversary

Coincidentally, Google has paused the rollout of Ask Photos just as it announced an improved classic search experience in Google Photos. The enhanced search allows you to search for text in your pictures — you only need to add quotation marks around your query. Google Photos will then only surface pictures containing that specific keyword.

Google recently also added several new features in Google Photos to celebrate its tenth anniversary. This includes a new image editor with new AI tools. It also made some Pixel 9-exclusive Photos features available to all users, like Reimagine and Auto Frame. The update also added the ability to share albums using a QR code.