I tried Google Photos' AI search and it was surprisingly bad - 3 ways to fix it
Published on: 2025-07-12 18:40:00
Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET
One practical use case for AI natural language processing is being able to search your photos with the ease of a conversational prompt. As a result, Google unveiled a feature called Ask Photos last year and started rolling out early access to users via Google Labs in September. The feature finally rolled out to me -- and the results were surprising.
I was excited to try it out for myself. Even though I am a long-time iPhone user, I've used Google Photos for about a decade for the additional photo storage and the impressive search interface. Even though the classic search experience isn't marketed as an AI feature, it has always been super efficient and better than those found on alternatives like Apple Photos.
Also: The best AI image generators: Tested and reviewed
With the classic search in Google Photos, I could search terms like "cake," "hot dog," "red dress," or "beach trip," and it would filter through my many photos and find the results instantaneously. Wi
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