Google Photos ‘Ask Photos’ will let you search your images with voice and text prompts

Damien Wilde | May 14 2024 - 10:12 am PT

Google Photos will gain context-aware voice and text prompts to search for specific images or details within images in the coming months.

Announced at I/O 2024, this is one of a slew of new AI-powered functions that are bolstering Google’s existing product lineup. “Ask Photos” will help you sift through your entire Google Photos library with the ability to get unique identifying aspects and use this to get the exact image you want or need.

The new functionality goes beyond a regular search for images with Gemini able to detect image content. Google gave an example of a car license plate with a prompt asking what a specific plate number was on a specific car model. Photos were then able to identify and give an output with the license specified.

Ask Photos, a new feature coming to @GooglePhotos, makes it easier to search across your photos and videos with the help of Gemini models. It goes beyond simple search to understand context and answer more complex questions. #GoogleIO pic.twitter.com/OsYXZLo5S1
— Google (@Google) May 14, 2024

In another example, Gemini was able to pinpoint when a child was learning to swim based on the images that were already in the user Google Photos library. While this is impressive, specific identifiers like this might depend on what type of content you have backed up to your Google Photos library.

Other identifiers like upload date and location will be used to speed up the process once a prompt or question is asked. You will be able to use “Ask Photos” with videos too. However, Google did not give a live demo or example of this in action.

“Ask Photos” will begin rolling out in coming months with “summer” as the tentative release timeframe. It wasn’t specified if this requires an internet connection to work or if it will be available locally on your device.