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Image search

If your plan includes photo reading, Speudio automatically writes a short description of the image attachments you receive, up to the number your plan includes (the figures are under "What's included" below). This lets you find images by what they SHOW, not just by filename or sender.

How it works

Captioning runs in the background after each sync. While it's working, a compact progress card appears in the sidebar on the left, just above your mailbox (on a phone, a slim pill at the bottom of the screen) showing how many photos have been read out of the total, and the same live count is shown in Settings → This mailbox. Once an image is captioned, it shows up in search results when you ask about its content: "the photo of the patio" or "screenshots of the receipt". Curious what the AI sees in a photo? Open its preview and tap the small ⓘ: the description appears right on the image, in your own language. Speudio writes the descriptions in English so one search finds your photos whatever language your mail is in, which is also why you can look for a photo in any language you like.

Looking for a colour? Type the colour on its own, like "black", to find photos where it fills a large part of the picture. Add a thing, like "black car", to find that thing in that colour.

Photos that might match

Where this is switched on for your mailbox, Speudio also looks at what is in each picture: the people and faces in it, its colours, and how close it looks to what you asked for. It can also compare your question with the descriptions of the photos that look closest, to tell which ones really show it. The answer then comes in two parts. First the photos that clearly match. Under them, after the line These might match, come photos where only part of your question fits. They are worth a look, but they may not be what you meant. When the first part is short, look at the second one too. Show next goes through the clear matches first, then the possible ones. If nothing fits at all, the answer says so and shows no photos.

What's included

Image descriptions are part of your plan: there's nothing extra to turn on, and nothing to pay per picture. Solo includes 2,000 image descriptions in total, once. That one is not a monthly allowance and it never refills: Solo gets 2,000 photos read over the life of the account, and then reading stops. Pro includes 5,000 image descriptions each month (up to 20,000 in total); Business includes 20,000 each month (up to 100,000 in total). Reach a monthly number and new images simply wait their turn; nothing breaks, and reading starts fresh the next month. The total is the one that does not reset: once you reach it, reading stays paused until a bigger plan raises it.

Photos in mail you already had before you connected a mailbox have their own limit: Solo reads up to 1,000 of them, Pro 3,000 and Business 10,000, newest first. Photos that arrive after you connect are not part of that number.

If some photos can't be read

The "Photos read" count in Settings → This mailbox can sit below the total for a few reasons:

  • Still in line: new photos are read in the background after each sync; the count catches up on its own.
  • You have used all the photo reading your plan covers for now: the remaining photos simply wait, and Speudio picks them up on its own when photo reading starts fresh. If you have reached the plan's total, that one does not start fresh on its own, so reading stays paused until an upgrade raises it.
  • Can't be read at all: an image in a format Speudio can't read, a very large file (over 20 MB), or one that kept failing. Speudio stops retrying those so the rest of your photos keep flowing.

An unread photo is otherwise unaffected: it still opens, downloads, and shows up in filename search; it just can't be found by what it shows. Separately, if your storage is full, a photo arriving in new mail can't be saved at all; it isn't counted or read here (the email itself still arrives, and the original always stays safe in your mailbox). Freeing up space or upgrading lets new syncs store photos again.

What you can ask

  • "Any images that show the leak"
  • "Photos of the patio renovation"
  • "Pictures with the new logo"
  • "Do I have any images at all?" (returns a snapshot)

Photo answers come back as thumbnails you can click, with buttons under them to load more. The AI assistant page has the detail.

Getting the right photos

Photo search is not always right. Some photos may be missing, and some may be wrong. It is not good at telling these apart:

  • men and women
  • similar papers, such as an invoice and a payment screenshot
  • paintings and drawings
  • very small things, such as glasses or a hat far away

Say exactly what you are looking for: who or what is in the photo, where it was taken, its colours, or any text you can see in it. "Photos of people wearing hats at the Christmas party" finds the right photos far more often than "photos with hats". When it matters, look through the photos yourself.

The first time photos show up in an answer, Speudio shows a short tip about this, once. Settings → Onboarding tips → Show tips again brings it back. With tips turned off, it does not show.