Google’s improved Ask Photos in Android goes live for US users

After a rocky rollout in May, 2024 and since languishing in Early Access for select users, Google has listened to its critics and is back with a better experience.

The complaints on the initial launch were that the Gemini-powered AI search was sluggish and took much longer than users had patience for, Mashable writes.

Complex queries for the photo library
The idea of the AI-powered search feature was to let people search in natural language with complex queries, like «what did I eat in Barcelona?» and finding photos that would make great backgrounds, according to 9to5Google.

Users still missed the original Photos search though, as it worked much better for finding simple queries, like for «beach» or «sunny skies.» These would appear instantly and made for much better use 90% of the time when user wanted something simple.

To make it even worse, the preview app didn’t let users switch back to simple search, and there was no way turn off the AI enhanced one, so they were stuck waiting far too long for their answers with pictures.

Best of both worlds?
As a compromise, Google is now rolling out the best of two worlds; with simple searches coming in quick at the bottom half of the screen, and AI answers coming in a little slower as «Best matches» on the top half of the screen.

The new app is now also out of preview, and available to all users in the USA, provided you are over 18, have an English language Google Account, and have Face Groups turned on.

Read more: Google’s launch post, Mashable talks about the toil of the early version, and 9to5Google has a writeup.