Google has temporarily halted the broader rollout of its “Ask Photos” feature in the Google Photos app, citing ongoing performance issues related to speed, search quality, and overall user experience. The pause affects only a small portion of users, according to Google Photos product manager Jamie Aspinall, who shared the update in a post on X.
Originally introduced at Google I/O in 2024, the Gemini-powered “Ask Photos” function allows users to search their photo libraries using natural, conversational queries. Phrases like “Emma painting in the backyard” or “Alice and me laughing” are intended to return relevant visual results, reducing the need for rigid, keyword-based searches. While the idea holds promise, execution appears to have fallen short in early testing phases.
Aspinall acknowledged that the current implementation isn’t meeting internal benchmarks. He specifically pointed to concerns about latency and search accuracy. In response, Google has slowed the rollout while it works on an improved version expected to be available within the next two weeks. The goal, he said, is to restore the speed and recall levels users are accustomed to from traditional photo search features.
This is not an isolated incident. Google has previously paused or pulled back several AI-powered features that didn’t perform as intended. Last year, the company faced backlash over inaccurate and sometimes bizarre outputs from AI Overviews in search results. The Gemini image generation tool also drew criticism for producing historically inaccurate visuals, prompting Google to suspend that feature until adjustments could be made.
The pause of Ask Photos comes at a time when Google is quietly adding more conventional, precision-focused search tools to Photos. On the same day the pause was confirmed, Google introduced a new feature that allows users to search within their image libraries using quotation marks. This enables exact text matches in image metadata—like file names, camera models, captions, or text detected in photos—adding back a level of specificity that some users found lacking in recent AI-driven features.
Despite the temporary setback, the idea behind Ask Photos continues to align with Google’s broader push to integrate generative AI into its core products. However, these recurring pauses indicate a more cautious approach may be necessary when layering complex AI systems over tools millions rely on daily.
For now, users frustrated by sluggish performance or imprecise results may find the new text-based search capabilities a more reliable option—at least until the next iteration of Ask Photos is ready to roll out more broadly.
