Google Photos Now Lets Users Disable ‘Ask Photos’ Search Experience

The Google Photos app is adding a new option to disable the AI-powered ‘Ask Photos’ search experience and go back to classic search. The Ask Photos feature, which lets users search for photos using natural language, went out of preview in June 2025, but Google paused its rollout earlier to address latency issues.

In a thread on X, Shimrit Ben-Yair, VP and General Manager of Google Photos, acknowledged that some users prefer an AI-free search experience. That’s why the app is getting this new toggle to disable Ask Photos results.

We’ve also improved quality for some of our most popular searches based on your feedback. Some of my personal favorites like turtles, purple dress, and lipstick are all working better than ever! ???

— shimrit ben-yair (@shimritby) March 9, 2026

“We’ve heard your feedback that you want more control over the type of results you see when searching in Google Photos,” the exec said. “To address this, we’re starting to roll out a new experience that puts you in the driver’s seat, letting you choose between fast classic search and intelligent Ask Photos results. We’ll lead with the results that best fit your query, but you always have the control to switch views to help you find exactly what you need.”

In the thread, Ben-Yair also said that the Google Photos team has improved the quality for some of the most popular searches based on user feedback. The exec also added that the team is in the process of rolling out a new feature that lets users find more photos from a specific date when tapping on an image after searching.