Google Photos can now help you find and recall your precious moments

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

Google Photos is about to get a significant boost in usability thanks to a major update powered by Google’s Gemini AI. First previewed at Google I/O in May, these enhancements are set to improve the way users search for and interact with their photo libraries.

One of the most notable updates is the new natural language search, which enables users to search for photos using casual descriptions. Instead of relying on exact keywords or dates, you can now search for images by describing actions and people. The official Google blog post provided examples of searches like “Alice and me laughing,” “Kayaking on a lake surrounded by mountains,” and “Emma painting in the backyard.”

Notably, the feature lets you search by naming specific people and activities, a significant improvement over the current capabilities of the app. You can also refine search results by sorting them based on date or relevance, providing more control when looking through extensive photo archives. The enhanced search is rolling out today in English for Android and iOS users, with more languages to follow soon.

The more ambitious update is the experimental ‘Ask Photos’ feature. It leverages Gemini’s multimodal capabilities to understand the content and context of your images, enabling a whole new level of interaction. This means that instead of just searching for photos by description, you can ask Google Photos complex, specific questions about the details within your images. For example, you could ask, “What’s my license plate number?” if your car frequently appears in your photos, and the AI will recognize and provide the relevant information.

You could even ask it for locations from past trips or to summarize key moments — such as “What were the top 10 things I did on my trip to Japan?” It can also assist with everyday tasks, such as curating a photo album by suggesting the best images from an event or summarizing memories to share with friends.

The feature’s conversational aspect means that if it doesn’t find exactly what you’re looking for, you can refine the search by providing additional context or follow-up questions. At the moment, Ask Photos is available only to select users in the US as part of Google Labs, with a waitlist available for those who want to test it out early.

If it works as advertised, it could significantly change how we manage and interact with our photo libraries. Last month, Android Authority exclusively reported that Gemini could also soon get a dedicated Ask Photos extension.

Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at [email protected]. You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.