Google Photos ‘classic search’ adds natural language lookup and ‘Best match’

Abner Li | Sep 5 2024 - 9:00 am PT

After the big Collections redesign last month, Google Photos is upgrading “classic search” in the Android and iOS app with features like “Best match.”

“Classic search” is what the current lookup experience is now called in light of Ask Photos — more on that rollout here. Even if you have the new Gemini-powered experience enabled, you can “Switch to classic search” at any time.

Google is enhancing classic search with support for “descriptive queries” using “everyday language.” Examples include: “Alice and me laughing,” “Kayaking on a lake surrounded by mountains,” or “Emma painting in the backyard.”

Meanwhile, instead of always showing results in reverse-chronological order, Google Photos on Android and iOS, like the web, can now surface the “Best match.” That shows results in a grid, with “Most recent” still available at the top of the page. Google Photos will use the most appropriate filter depending on the query.

Google Photos is rolling out these updates to classic search “is rolling out in English to all users on Android and iOS, and will expand to more languages over the coming weeks.”