Google Photos’ Gemini-powered Ask Photos promised an easier way to navigate growing photo libraries, but slow searches, poor results, and limited functionality held it back. Despite rolling out several updates to address these shortcomings, Google eventually announced it would restore the classic search experience in Google Photos. Now, the company is adding a toggle that lets users switch between Ask Photos and classic search.
Almost two years after its initial announcement, Ask Photos in Google Photos does not deliver the same experience as the regular Google Photos search. It works when you want to find some specific type of pictures, but this comes at the expense of a slower search experience.
Following criticism, Google announced in March this year that it would add a toggle to switch between Ask Search and classic search easily. Four months later, the feature appears to have finally finished rolling out, with Google announcing its availability in a community post.
With Ask Photos enabled, Google Photos will decide based on your search query whether to use Gemini-powered search or classic search. Thanks to the toggle, you can switch to classic search results with a single tap.
For simpler queries, Google Photos will use the classic search tool. But for more descriptive or complex queries, it will use Ask Photos by default.
Google Photos finally makes Ask Photos easier to live with
The toggle appears only after you search in your Photos library. Tap it, and the results instantly switch to the other search experience. This option will appear even if you have Ask Photos turned off. In that case, the results will appear using the classic search, with the toggle enabling Ask Photos and taking you through the onboarding and opt-in process.
This minor change gives Google Photos users the best of both worlds. Classic search works best for simple, straightforward queries, while Ask Photos can handle more complex, descriptive queries.
More importantly, the toggle ensures that if Ask Photos comes up with irrelevant results, you can immediately switch to classic search and get better results.
You should see the new search toggle in the latest version of Google Photos for Android and iOS.
