Google has quietly paused the rollout of its AI-powered “Ask Photos” feature, citing performance issues. The feature, which allows users to ask natural-language questions about their photo library, was powered by a specialized version of Google’s Gemini AI model.
In a response to user feedback on X, Jamie Aspinall, product manager for Google Photos, admitted the feature is not yet meeting expectations. He pointed to problems with latency, quality, and overall user experience as key reasons behind the pause.
“Ask Photos isn’t where it needs to be,” Aspinall wrote. Google says the rollout had only reached a “very small” number of users so far. A better version is expected to roll out in about two weeks, with improvements aimed at restoring the speed and recall of the original search experience.
Originally unveiled at Google I/O 2024, the Ask Photos tool was designed to answer human-style queries, such as “Which national parks did I visit last year?” or “What themes have I used for my kid’s birthday parties?”
While Ask Photos is on hold, Google is still rolling out enhancements to its traditional keyword search in Google Photos.
Users can now use quotes to find exact matches for filenames, camera models, captions, or even text visible in photos. Searches without quotes will now support visual matches as well.
Despite the temporary setback, Google says the Ask Photos project remains a high priority — and will return in an improved form soon.
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