Ask Photos in Google Photos was so slow, Google had to hit pause while it fixes performance
Joe Maring / Android Authority
TL;DR Google has paused the rollout of Ask Photos 'at very small numbers.'
Latency, quality, and user experience are listed as key issues.
You can now use quotation marks in the Photos app to find exact text matches.
Ask Photos, an AI-powered search tool built for Google Photos, was first introduced last year. Google had been slowly rolling out the experimental feature to the app, but the rollout has now been paused. It appears the feature is not living up to the company's expectations quite yet.
In response to criticism on X (formerly Twitter), the Product Manager for Google Photos, Jamie Aspinall, stated that Google has paused the rollout of Ask Photos 'at very small numbers.' According to Aspinall, there are three key problems that need to be addressed: latency, quality, and the UX.
I hear you both. Ask Photos isn't where it needs to be, in terms of latency, quality and ux. Rollout has been paused at very small numbers while we address these issues. In ~2 weeks we'll ship an improved version that brings back the speed and recall of the original search
— Jamieasp (@jamieasp) June 3, 2025
Aspinall estimates that it will take the team about two weeks to fix these concerns. After that time period, they expect to ship a better version 'that brings back the speed and recall of the original search.'
If you're unfamiliar with Ask Photos, it's a tool that uses Gemini to look up and find information from your photo library. Since an LLM powers Ask Photos, it allows you to use natural language to find what you're looking for. This feature is billed as a way to make it 'even easier for you to look for a specific memory or recall information included in your gallery.'
Also announced today, Google Photos has rolled out the ability to use quotes to find words in images. As Google explains, using quotation marks will help you 'find exact text matches in filenames, camera models, captions, or text within photos.'
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