Google is expanding its AI-powered photo editing tools to iPhone users, bringing features that were previously limited to Pixel and other Android devices. The update to Google Photos introduces the “Help me edit” function on iOS, allowing users to modify images simply by describing the desired changes through text or voice commands.
Rolling out first in the United States, the feature uses Google’s image editing AI to interpret instructions like “brighten the background” or “remove reflections” and apply the edits automatically. Alongside this, iPhone users will see the refreshed Google Photos editor interface, which emphasizes quick, gesture-based controls and streamlined editing options.
The update also improves how Google Photos handles facial edits. Using references from your own photo library, the app can better recognize and adjust facial features while keeping the results more realistic. This means changes like adjusting expressions, opening closed eyes, or removing glasses should now blend more naturally into existing images. Google says this enhancement relies on its Nano Banana AI model, a lightweight system optimized for mobile devices, which also enables creative transformations such as turning photos into illustrations, paintings, or stylized mosaics.
Another addition is the new “Ask” button, available across Android and iOS, which introduces a conversational interface for photo management. Users can type or speak to the app to perform edits or ask questions about their images — for example, finding all photos from a particular trip or identifying people and places in their gallery. Android users are also getting pre-made AI templates designed to apply common effects with a single tap, such as creating professional-style portraits or themed edits.
Google is further expanding its “Ask Photos” search feature to more than 100 new regions and 17 additional languages, broadening access to its AI-assisted photo search capabilities.
The company’s continued investment in generative and conversational AI for Google Photos highlights a push to make complex editing more accessible across platforms, though it also raises familiar questions about data use, privacy, and reliance on cloud processing for personal imagery.
