Apple Intelligence-powered natural language / semantic search in Photos on Mac

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Apple Intelligence-powered natural language / semantic search in Photos on Mac

Using Photos on Mac running MacOS Sequoia 26.1 and the latest version of Photos, and have Apple Intelligence & Siri turned on in System Settings. Photos now supposedly supports natural language and semantic search, e.g. “Photos from my most recent trip to Germany” or even something simpler like "Rome monuments", but these and other even more straightforward searches draw a complete blank. Only the information from keywords, title etc. - which is what the old Search function also used - seems to work. How to get AI search working?

Posted on Nov 25, 2025 1:22 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

azaksalmarzur28

Level 4

1,302 points

Dec 9, 2025 2:30 AM in response to arvindfromgurgaon

To get Apple Intelligence semantic search working in Photos on Mac:

Ensure region = United States
Ensure language = English (US)
Ensure library is on internal APFS drive
Confirm Apple Intelligence is enabled
Leave Photos open overnight to complete indexing
Reset photoanalysisd if indexing is stuck
Restart Photos and try semantic queries again

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Answer 2

Dec 10, 2025 6:52 PM in response to azaksalmarzur28

Thank you for replying. I already did 1-4, will try out the rest.

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