Andrew Orr
Apple iPhone users can now join the waitlist for Google's new feature that brings AI-powered, natural language search to Google Photos. Here's how to sign up.
The company first announced Ask Photos at its annual I/O conference in May. It's now providing a waitlist to sign up for the feature.
Powered by Google's Gemini AI models, it aims to make finding specific memories easier by understanding the context within your photo collection. It helps you rediscover specific moments or locations without scrolling through your gallery.
Once enabled, the "Ask" tab appears as the last option in the Google Photos app. The interface is chat-like. If you prefer, you can also switch back to the classic search mode.
The system displays its processing steps, cycling through "Thinking," "Searching," and "Reviewing" before delivering results.
Users can provide additional clues to refine the results if the search isn't accurate. For example, you can nudge the AI by providing more specific details about the context of the photos you're searching for.
The feature also allows for automatic actions, like recommending the best photos from a birthday party for a shared album or summarizing highlights from a recent trip.
Privacy considerations
Google has addressed potential privacy concerns with Ask Photos. The company assures users that their photo data won't be used for advertising.
To enhance privacy, any questions that humans review are disconnected from the user's Google Account. Google also states that humans don't review photos and videos unless feedback is provided or, in rare cases, to address potential abuse.
How to join the early access waitlist
To gain access to Ask Photos, users can sign up through Google Labs, where the feature is being tested. It's currently limited to a select group of US users.
AppleInsider will be evaluating it as it is made available to us.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
9 Comments
Privacy considerations
Google has addressed potential privacy concerns with Ask Photos. The company assures users that their photo data won't be used for advertising.
🤣🤣🤣
Are there people that really believe that?
Even if I believed that they won’t use “photo data” (what does that mean specifically? Why not just say “your photos”?) for “advertising,” that doesn’t mean they won’t SELL that data to other entities.