Umm what? Did you know about visual search?

What is Visual Search?

Visual search is a new practice in which users can search by uploading an image.

When a person takes a photo of an object the program recognizes the object in the photo and gives the user with information and search results.

Sometimes text search just doesn’t get the point across so visual search is the solution to find what you are searching for.

Visual search, although being one of the less-discussed forms of search, has been around for a while and is integrated into a number of famous search engines and social media sites, including Pinterest, Google, Bing, Snapchat, and Amazon.

The two most used are Pinterest Lens and Google Lens:

Pinterest Lens

Users can point their camera at practically anything and find, save, or purchase the items in the photo.

Pinterest’s Lens detects 2.5 billion home and fashion products and has sparked more than 600 million searches on the company’s mobile apps and browser extensions.

Google Lens

Google Lens is a visual search engine developed by Google that uses a camera app to recognize items and landmarks. Literally search what you see.

So many things that you can do with Google Lens:

• Scan and translate text in real time, call a phone number from taking a picture of a business card
• Without having to describe what you’re looking for in a search box, be inspired by similar clothes, furniture, and home decor.
• You can copy printed or handwritten text digitally. Think about how much time that would save not having to type!!
• Identify plants and animals
• Need help with your homework? Google has got you covered. For arithmetic, history, chemistry, biology, physics, and more, quickly locate explainers, videos, and findings on the web.
• At a book store or see a book elsewhere, take a picture of it and get a summary and read reviews before you purchase
• Want more information on an event flyer or billboard, Add the event to your calendar and learn more.
• See historical facts, hours of operation, and more, based off of a picture of a landmark and building.
• Even take a picture of a painting in a museum so you can read about the artist and learn more

There have been so many occasions where someone was wearing a pair of shoes or a jacket that I adored, and I’ve searched describing it with text but never found what I was looking for. Visual search makes this easy now.

Ascent Digital is here to keep you out of the dark ages and make sure your business stays on the map.