The ability to search your photo galleries for people, pets, places and more has long been a beloved Google Photos feature — nearly half a billion people use search in Photos every month. Now you can use more descriptive queries — beyond just using simple keywords — to search for images and videos in Photos and get more relevant results. We're also rolling out early access for Ask Photos, our Gemini-powered conversational search experience, to select users in the U.S.

A new, improved way to search for images and videos

As photo libraries get larger and larger, finding what you’re looking for sometimes requires more descriptive queries. Starting today, you can find what you’re looking for using everyday language. For example, you can search for specific photos in a natural, descriptive way, like “Alice and me laughing,” “Kayaking on a lake surrounded by mountains” or “Emma painting in the backyard.”

In addition to getting better results, you can choose whether to sort your search results by date or relevance, helping you find the specific image you’re looking for even faster. The improved search experience is rolling out in English to all users on Android and iOS, and will expand to more languages over the coming weeks.

Early access to Ask Photos for select users

Today, early access to Ask Photos is rolling out to select U.S. users as part of Google Labs. This experimental experience is a step beyond our improved search experience. Using the latest Gemini models, Ask Photos can understand the context of your photo gallery — like the most important people in your life, hobbies or favorite foods — and pull out relevant details to help you find specific memories and uncover information about your life.

For example, if you are trying to plan your next camping trip and want to return to a favorite site, you could ask “Where did we camp last time we went to Yosemite?” Or if you want to go back to a restaurant you enjoyed and order the same thing, just ask, “What did we eat at the hotel in Stanley?” Ask Photos understands details, like where you took photos with your camping gear or what dish is sitting on the table in your picture at the restaurant, to give you the answer. And because Ask Photos is conversational, if it doesn't find the right answer immediately, you can provide extra clues or details to nudge it in the right direction.

Ask Photos can also help you get tasks done more easily thanks to Gemini models. For example, you can ask for suggestions for the best photos from your birthday party for a shared album or for help summarizing the top things you did on your recent trip to share with a friend.

Our responsible approach to building Ask Photos

We’re taking a responsible approach to launching Ask Photos, guided by our AI Principles. While we strive to always improve our products based on actual usage, we take our responsibility to protect your data and privacy very seriously. As always, your data in Google Photos is never used for ads and protected with our industry-leading security measures. To help us improve Ask Photos, queries may be reviewed by humans, but only after being disconnected from your Google Account to protect your privacy. The answers provided by Ask Photos, including your photos and videos, are not reviewed by humans, unless you provide feedback or in rare cases to address abuse or harm. Learn more in our Help Center.

Join the Ask Photos waitlist today

We're excited to see how you use Ask Photos, and eager to improve and expand its capabilities. Early access to select users in the U.S. is rolling out today, and we’re making sure we get this experience right before rolling it out broadly. Sign up for the waitlist to request early access to Ask Photos.