Spotify Wrapped is no longer the only service offering a year-end summary. Alongside reviews from other streaming platforms and social apps, Google Photos now provides users with a "2024 Recap" feature. This recap compiles significant moments, insights, and photos from the past year, enhanced with optional AI-generated captions.
According to Google, this AI captioning feature is available to select users in the U.S. Those who have enabled AI in Google Photos can utilize the Gemini AI model to create personalized captions. These captions spotlight the two most significant moments of the year, such as major events, vacations, celebrations, or other milestones.
The recap also showcases other memories and insights designed for sharing beyond the Google Photos app, including on social media. Users will find personalized statistics, like the number of photos taken, videos recorded, and total hours of footage captured throughout the year.
One challenge with photo recaps is that not all images reflect positive memories. Sometimes, they highlight life’s difficult moments. For instance, Google Photos reminded one user of a house fire in March—a significant but painful event. Similarly, others might encounter images of lost loved ones, past relationships, or other bittersweet memories. At this stage, AI isn’t advanced enough to differentiate between photos users may want to cherish and those they'd rather avoid.
Despite this, for users who had a predominantly positive year, the Recap can be an enjoyable way to revisit and share cherished moments with friends and family.
The 2024 Recap is gradually being made available to Google Photos users, who will receive a notification when it’s ready. To use the AI captions, ensure the Gemini AI feature is enabled in the app.