Google's AI Mode Personal Intelligence Feature is Free for All: But in the U.S. Only

In January 2026, Google launched personal intelligence as part of the pro and premium plans. In March 2026, Google made personal intelligence available for every user with AI Mode.

Right now, only U.S. users are allowed to access personal intelligence for free. Eventually, it will roll out to other countries as well.

You can access personal intelligence through Gemini in Chrome and the Gemini app. It connects Google Photos and Gmail to create a personalized AI experience.

The reason why Google decided to move personal intelligence from a premium feature to Free-for-all is to test its capabilities with a wider audience.

Now, personal intelligence is available for free to AI Ultra and AI Pro users.

Here is what you must know about personal intelligence.

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Personal Intelligence:

Google’s personal intelligence feature allows you to connect Google apps to get customized and personalized responses. It is available through Chrome and the Gemini App.

You can allow it to connect your Gmail account with Google Photos. With these features, you can expect personalized answers based on discovery and planning.

Personal Intelligence Free-For-All in the U.S.:

Google rolled our Personal Intelligence feature for free users in the U.S. Users can access the feature in AI Mode. The feature is also available through the Gemini App and Chrome.

Now, AI can access your email and photos to generate a personalized response. It is helpful to plan international trips, travel bookings, and share memories.

Update:

In January 2026, Google launched Personal Intelligence only for premium users. But now, it is available for free users as well.

Yet only the U.S. users are allowed to access the free Personal Intelligence feature.

You can still not use the Personal Intelligence feature in education, enterprise, and business accounts.

To opt in, you must connect apps through Gemini or search settings. It also gives you the option to turn off the feature anytime.

Personal Intelligence and Training Data:

Google has made it clear that AI mode and Gemini do not train on your Google Photos and Gmail data.

They use specific prompts and model responses. These prompts only work when you are using Personal Intelligence from connected apps.

Why Personal Intelligence Matters?

The change from paid to free access is necessary to scale Personal Intelligence.

When it was limited to Ultra or Pro Subscription, its audience reached a smaller user base.

Allowing Personal Intelligence for free users gives Google an edge to access personalized data.

Personalization:

The free Personal Intelligence feature increases personalization in AI mode.

It means that the AI mode response will not differ from user to user.

Even if the two users search for the same query, they will still get different answers. AI gets more access to Google Photos and Gmail.

Change Queries:

The new free-to-all feature allows users to type more queries in AI mode. It gives Google context to the searcher, as a result search will become shorter. 

Conclusion:

Google has limited the free Personal Intelligence feature to U.S. users only. The search engine giant first tested the features with premium users and then rolled them out for free users.

It is yet to be seen how people respond to sharing personal data with AI and search engines.

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Google Photos Playback Speed Controller! Similar to YouTube

Google Photos is about to get a new feature, and that is playback speed controller. While the feature is not new for YouTube users, it is coming to Google Photos for the first time.

Google Photos is one of the most downloaded Android apps, with 10 billion downloads. It is the app that not only manages your photo backup but also gives you the ability to edit and share photos. You can also play videos.

Since its inception in 2015, Google Photos has evolved in features and the number of users. It is a feature-rich service to create reels, collages, and edit photos.

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While there are many alternatives to Google Photos available online but being part of the Android system gives it the most advantage. It is the source of your photos and video backup.

The only limitation that I ever felt while playing videos on Google Photos was the lack of a playback speed button.

eAskme research team found details about the existence of the playback feature in Google Photos as a testing feature.

This cleared the fact that soon Google will roll out the playback speed feature in Google Photos.

Google Photos Playback Speed Controller:

The playback speed controller feature at Google Photos works in the same way it does for YouTube.

You can increase or decrease the payback speed on your videos on Google Photos.

How does Playback Speed work?

Playback speed at Google Photos gives you the ability to decrease, increase to play videos at normal speed.

• Decrease playback speed to 0.5x or 0.25x.
• Increase playback speed to 1.5x or 2x.
• Keep the speed at 1x to play at normal speed.

It is an easy-to-use feature if you are like me, who watches most of the videos at 1.5x.

Other than this, Google is also launching a toggle feature for Google Photos.

New Date Toggle feature:

New toggle features in Google Photos allow users to hide dates in photo view.

You can choose to either show or hide the date with the toggle. 

If you hide dates in photo view, then you will not be able to select photos or videos according to dates. But hiding dates makes the photos look much better.

Note: Google is testing these features. They may add or delete something before launching the new features for global users. Google may also release these features for U.S. users first.

Why Playback Speed Controller similar to YouTube?

The Playback Speed Controller has only one job to do, and that is to control the speed of video playback. It can change the speed of video playback from normal to fast or slow.

Playback Speed Controller is already a popular feature on YouTube.

There is no reason why Google needs to make any changes to it before launching it for the Google Photos video player.

To keep things simple, Google is using a similar playback speed controller. 

Conclusion:

Google Photos' playback feature is one of the critical updates for users. It gives you the ability to control the speed, and I like that.

You can slow down the speed of fast videos to understand them better. Hiding dates on photos is more of a UI feature. It is suitable for user experience.

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Google Photos Launched 5 New Video Editing Tools

Google Photos received a new set of video editing tools ahead of the holiday season. Christmas and New Year are on the way, and Google is giving photos and video editors new tools to optimize, edit, and generate videos using Google Photos.

On December 9, 2025, Google launched 5 new video editing tools in Google Photos.

Here is everything about the new video editing tools.

5 New Video Editing Tools for Google Photos:

5 new video editing tools for Google Photos are:

1. Highlight video templates
2. Redesigned video editor
3. Soundtrack
4. Custom text
5. Customizable individual videos

1).  Highlight Video Templates:

As the name suggests, the highlight video templates are rolling out on smartphones. It allows you to add music, edit text, and cut soundtracks.

With an easy-to-use template, you can choose multiple photos and videos to edit.

Your photos will automatically create a shareable video with the music.

All you need to do is open the "Create" tab and select "Highlight Video."

2). Redesigned Video Editor:

Google has redesigned the video editor. The new video editor is accessible on both Android and iOS devices. Use it to optimize your videos with creative ideas.

The best thing about the Google Photos video editor is that it allows you to edit multiple videos and photos in one go.

Add storytelling in your videos to make them compelling. Choose the right canvas settings to create a video ready for the devices.

3). Add Soundtracks:

Now, you can add and edit soundtracks in your videos.

All you need to do is open the library and choose a soundtrack. You can also cut the music to use on highlighted videos.

4). Custom text:

You may have seen reels and shorts with custom text. The text helps users to understand video without voiceover.

Google launched custom text in Google Photos.

You can add text and restyle it with fonts, backgrounds, and colors. You can even change the portion of your text.

5). Customize Individual Videos:

Now, you can redesign existing videos using the video editor on Android and iOS devices. Choose the video in the video editor and start editing.

Add text, music, and animations to make your video interesting. 

Why Google Launched New Video Editing Tools in Google Photos?

Google launched new tools ahead of the holiday season to ensure that users can easily add photos and videos to tell stories.

Editing multiple photos with a soundtrack and custom text makes it easy to create videos for reels and stories.

Who should use Google Photos Video Editor?

Users with the goal to create videos with easy-to-use tools should use Google Photos Video Editor.

It is best for creating YouTube Shorts and Facebook and Instagram Reels.

Users:

Google Photos users can simply add multiple photos with soundtracks and text to create engaging videos to share with family and friends.  

Bloggers:

Bloggers should use Google Photos Video Editor tools to convert blog posts into videos and reels.

The short video stories help you repurpose your existing content and grab more traffic.

Marketers:

Marketers should use the Google Photos video editor to create short videos for new marketing campaigns.

You can use multiple product images, banners, and customer stories to create videos.

Conclusion:

Google has added multiple video editing tools to the Google Photos Video Editor.

You can not only edit videos and add text and soundtracks but also get 15 GB of cloud storage.

Google Photos video editor is an AI-powered tool to create and tell stories.

For advanced video editing, you should use professional video editors. 

FAQs:

What are the new Google Photos video editing tools?

Google launched 5 new video editing tools on December 9, 2025. Highlight Video Templates, Redesigned Video Editor, Add Soundtracks, Custom Text, and Customize Individual Videos are the new tools.

Who should use video editing tools?

Bloggers, marketers, and influencers should use video editing tools to create compelling stories.

Are Google Photos video editing tools free?

Yes.

How to Access Google Photos Video Editing Tools?

Install the Google Photos app on your Android or iOS devices. Now, you can easily edit photos and videos.

Can I share videos on social media?

Yes. You can share edited videos on social media.

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