The Photos App Now Gets New Search Features Thanks to Gemini
This year’s Google I/O had announcements mostly focused on Artificial Intelligence. Google’s Gemini language model is extending to various other services, including the Photos app. Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, introduced “Ask Photos”, which brings in Gemini’s AI goodness to how you search in the Photos app.
Well, the Photos app already has AI for a long time. Google says that Photos was one of the first products it built with AI at the center. With Gemini now, the app is getting a “major upgrade.” You can search for images and videos by asking questions. It will utilize AI to understand the “context and subject” of photos to display the results.
Finding Images on The Photos App Is Getting Significantly Easier
Sometimes, we need to search for old photos on the app. To do so, Google already provides some AI-based helpful features, like searching photos of people, pets, places, events, objects, and much more.
With this new update, you can now ask the Photos app more clearly and naturally for what you’re searching for. Google has shared an example on The Keyword blog by asking the app, “Show me the best photo from each national park I’ve visited.” As you can see in the image, the app identifies photos with national parks, chooses one it finds best from each location, and shows results with a summary underneath.
You Can Ask the App to Perform Certain Tasks or Ask Questions About Images
The Photos app now understands the content of images, thanks to Gemini’s integration. Benefiting from this, you can ask various questions, and the app will answer based on what’s inside the image/images. Like, you can ask the app where you went hiking last year. It will search for photos from last year related to hiking, use Gemini to determine the location, and answer your query accordingly.
In a blog post, Google showcased an example by asking the Photos app about the themes for a person’s birthday parties. You can check the results in the photo.
Besides, the Photos app can also now perform some tasks for you. You can ask the app to search for the best images from a particular date or event, make it write an image’s caption, etc.
Ask Photos Is Soon Rolling out to the Google Photos App
According to Google, the Ask Photos update will start rolling out to users in the coming months. With time, more capabilities and features will also be added.
Google also says that Ask Photos is currently experimental and won’t get every result right. However, the company has made efforts to ensure that the responses are always “safe and appropriate.” Your personal data and conversations will not be reviewed personally by anyone, and your personal data won’t be utilized for ads.
