Google Photos Lets You Switch Off AI Search: Here's How

Google Photos has introduced a new way to search through your pictures using AI, but not everyone likes it. Now, you can turn it off if you prefer the old way. The feature, called "Ask Photos, " was first introduced in late 2024. It was supposed to make finding photos easier by using AI to recognize people and events. However, it was slow and didn't work well, so Google had to pause it for a while to fix it. Now, Google has brought it back, but this time it's faster and works better. When you search, it shows results quickly and then uses AI to find more related photos. But if you don't like this new way, you can turn it off. Google Photos has always used AI to help you search, but now you can choose to turn off the newer AI features. This is a good thing because not everyone likes AI helping them find their photos. To turn off the AI search, you need to make sure you have the latest version of Google Photos. Google is rolling out this option slowly, so you might not see it right away. But once you have the update, you can go to your profile picture, tap on "Photos settings, " then "Preferences, " and finally "Gemini features in Photos. " There, you can turn off the "Search with Ask Photos" option. Once you turn it off, the "Ask" button at the bottom of the screen will change back to "Search, " and you'll get the old search interface. It's good that Google is giving users a choice. Some people might prefer the new AI search, while others might want to stick with the old way. It's all about what works best for you.