Google Photos adds new AI features for editing, expanding AI-powered search to more than 100 countries

Google Photos has rolled out a series of new AI-powered features, including ways to edit objects and people in images, a new Ask a Question button to use AI to answer your photos and editing requests, AI templates to create new photos, and enhancements to natural language search.

The company first introduced prompt-based editing on its Pixel 10 series smartphones in August. iOS users in the U.S. can now use voice or text to explain edits and change images, Google announced Tuesday. The company is also bringing a redesigned photo editor to iOS with easy editing options.

This upgrade includes a new personalized editing feature that recognizes people from face groups in Google Photos. Users can find the “Help me edit” option and enter some instructions that can be applied to the person in the photo. For example, as the image below shows, we get the edits associated with each person: “Removes Riley’s sunglasses, opens her eyes, makes Engel smile, opens her eyes.”

The company is adding Nano Banana, a popular AI image model, to Google Photos to allow users to edit photos and recreate images in new styles like Renaissance portraits and cartoon strips.

Google is also adding AI templates that allow users to easily convert a single photo into a specific format. At Nano Banana, formats like transforming images into retro portraits and action figures became popular. The company says the feature will roll out next week in the Create tab on Android in the US and India, where Nano Banana is most commonly used.

Google Photos has also undergone a slight design change, adding a new Ask button that acts as a starting point for various AI requests. Users can use prompts to ask for information about photos, find relevant moments, and edit them. The company will also be showcasing some suggested chips that show what users can do with the feature, which will be rolled out to iOS and Android users in the US.

Last year, Google introduced AI-powered search to its Photos app with its first release in the US. The company has now expanded its search to more than 100 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and South Africa. More than 17 new languages ​​will be supported, including Arabic, Bengali, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish.