Google Photos has introduced a new feature that will make it easier to search for specific photos and videos. On Thursday, the Mountain View-based tech giant announced the rollout of Descriptive Queries, an enhanced version of the app’s native search functionality. This allows users to type queries in simple language and get more specific results. This feature is being rolled out to all users on iOS and Android. Notably, the company is also giving US users early access to an unreleased AI-powered Ask Photos feature that uses Gemini to search for images.
Google Photos updated with support for descriptive questions
In a blog post, the tech giant announced the Descriptive Queries feature. The feature is an improvement over Google Photos’ native search functionality, which is located at the bottom of the app. Previously, users could search for specific images by adding relevant keywords. However, it was not possible to further refine the search results.
Google Photos descriptive queries feature
Photo Credit: Google
But with improvements, users can type search queries in natural language that can be as long as a sentence to find specific images and videos. For example, searching for “Alice and I laughing,” or “kayaking on a lake surrounded by mountains” will show relevant results. Google said users may also use ambiguous language in their search queries.
Notably, this is not a Gemini-powered feature and is being introduced to all users on iOS and Android. However, descriptive queries will only work if the user’s smartphone language is set to English. Google says the search experience will be expanded to more languages in the coming weeks.
Additionally, Google Photos will also allow users to sort results by date or relevance, making it even easier to find the right image.
Google is also rolling out early access to a recently introduced AI-powered feature for viewing images and videos on the app, called Ask Photos. Powered by Gemini, it allows users to harness AI by typing conversational prompts. Gemini uses computer vision to process users’ Google Photos library and find relevant images.
This is an experimental feature that is part of Google Labs. Currently, it is available in Early Access for select users in the US. The company said it will be expanded to more users later this year.
