Google has recently made significant updates to its platform, enhancing user-friendliness, with one of the standout features being Ask Photos in Google Photos. After being hinted at for some time, the official announcement came in early September, and interested users could sign up for a waitlist. According to the team at 9to5Google, early adopters may now have access to this feature.
Ask Photos is powered by Gemini technology and uses text prompts to search your photo library. This makes it much easier to locate specific images in a vast collection of photos stored in the cloud.
An exciting aspect of this update is that it is not restricted to Google devices. As it is integrated into the Google Photos platform, it is accessible on both Android and iOS. It appears as a new tab in the Photos app, replacing the original Search tab. Although the traditional search feature is still available, Ask Photos must now be used. Keep in mind that this feature is not yet available to everyone, but if you have signed up for the waitlist, it’s worth checking for access.
If Google has already identified individuals in the photos, it will ask you to specify their relationship to you (the same applies to pets). It also prompts you to review the terms and conditions related to data privacy. At first glance, these permissions seem secure, with Google assuring that responses are not reviewed by humans, not used for advertising, and not utilized to train AI models beyond Photos.
Ben Schoon from 9to5Google mentions that his testing has been limited, but initial impressions indicate that the feature is more effective at identifying people and places rather than specific time periods. Results for events from years ago were not as relevant, but recent events showed accurate results. The theory is that Google uses location data to refine the results, and time will tell as the feature becomes more widely available.
Currently, this feature is exclusive to the United States. If you do not have access yet, you can sign up for the waitlist here.
