Google Photos: Ask Photos AI vs Classic Search

Let’s face it, many of us take a lot of photos. Maybe too many. It can be a pain trying to sift through years of snaps to find a particular event or a certain person. This is where smart searching can come in handy and save time. Google Photos has offered this type of search for years, but now it offers a feature called Ask Photos AI, which features for Gemini-powered searching. It replaces the previous search, which is now called Classic Search.

In this article, we’ll be looking at Ask Photos AI vs. Classic Search, what each offers, and where they fall short.

Classic Search – The Original Smart Search

Before being renamed Classic Search, it was simply the Search function for Google Photos. The smart searcher worked by keyword input, relying on computer vision and metadata indexing to get results, emphasizing speed over interpretation.

It offers searching by categories, such as individuals, years, and locations. Many have found this to be an effective search and still use it.

Ask Photos AI

With major tech companies rushing to integrate AI into everything, Google integrated Gemini into Google Photos in October 2024 for a limited release. Seeing as Google Photos was one of the first Google features to use a form of smart search, this seems like a no-brainer of a development.

Ask Photos AI brings chatbot functionality into Google Photos to offer a curated experience. Users are still able to search by keyword, but now the search understands nuance, can isolate themes, and summarize and select memories for presentation. It’s not just photos that are returned, but text responses that offer context and answers to any questions asked.

Ask Photos AI was developed as a way to provide a better and deeper response to search queries, offering deep dives and analysis.

Where They Fall Short – Ask Photos AI vs. Classic Search

Classic Search does not offer the most in-depth experience, prioritizing fast results with minimal input. It can’t understand nuance or offer in-depth pattern recognition. In short, it isn’t as “smart” as the AI alternative.

Ask Photos AI, on the other hand, has had a much more interesting reception. There were some limitations out of the gate, as recognized by Google, such as the slower response times and the occasional inaccuracies. In practice, however, there might be a very good reason the feature hasn’t seen a complete worldwide release.

Many cite the Ask Photos AI as confusing to use and frustrating in practice. Photos are sometimes not found, because there’s less accuracy than the Classic Search. It’s in a better state than when it was introduced, but still, the sentiment remains. But many see the trade-off in intelligence between the two as worth it for the speed and accuracy.

Introducing the Toggle

Ask Photos AI didn’t completely replace Classic Search, but it’s clear that Google wanted major user buy-in. The option to change back to a classic Google image search was originally hidden deep in the Google Photos settings.

Recently, however, they’ve capitulated, with Photos lead Shimrit Ben-Yair making the call to add a toggle to the search that allows users to easily switch between Classic Search and Ask Photos AI with a simple tap or click. Not everyone has access to this feature just yet, but it’s clear this is here to stay.