When searching for a specific item, the right combination of keywords to describe what you’re looking for can sometimes escape you. And other times, you may define and describe something completely differently than another person. Couple these realities with the fact that humans are largely visual animals and it’s no surprise that visual search is becoming increasingly popular for all kinds of queries, especially for those that are shopping related.
That backpack you saw someone wearing on the street, the new couch you just sat on at your neighbor’s cocktail party or the T-shirt an actress was wearing in your favorite TV show — these are all hard to find with just a few words; but snap a pic and shopping opportunities abound.
Google now sees nearly 20 billion visual searches with its Lens tool every month, and 20% of those searches are shopping-related (fashion accessories are the most shopped-for category). Fun fact: The idea for Google Images (the necessary precursor to Lens) came about after Google noticed a flood of search interest in the dress J.Lo wore to the Grammy Awards in 2000 (you know it, even if you don’t remember it).
“Google Lens has become really core to the way that people shop,” said Lilian Rincon, VP of Product at Google Shopping in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “It’s no longer a party trick. It’s just something that is part of people’s lives. Our data shows that shoppers are really relying on visual search for everything from outfit inspiration to living room decor to even identifying items in a video, like a YouTube video or an Instagram Reel.”
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Heading into the holidays, Google is amping up the shopping experience for visual searches on Lens. And not to be left behind, Amazon also has released a series of new visual search capabilities on its platform, including a “Circle to Search” feature similar to the one Google introduced earlier this year.
How Google is ‘Taking the Work out of Online Shopping’
Now when users conduct shopping-related queries in Lens, the results page will go beyond a simple stream of similar products to also show specific product information including prices, reviews and where to buy, making the path from picture to purchase that much easier.
“We’re using the power of Google’s AI with our Shopping Graph, which includes more than 45 billion products, to make Lens even more helpful,” explained Rincon. “What we hear from users is that it’s great to see visually similar products, but a lot of times they want to see different prices and what people are saying about the product.”
The new experience is live this week for Android and iOS in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan and India, beginning with top holiday shopping categories, including toys, electronics and beauty.
“Visual search is opening up a brand-new chapter for product discovery,” added Rincon. “It’s really transforming the way people shop and follow their inspiration, and we’re really excited to bring the power of AI and our Shopping Graph to make this much more powerful and take the work out of shopping.”
Amazon Adds More Image, Video Search Capabilities
Over the last year, Amazon has seen a 70% increase in visual searches on its website, according to a company blog post. Now the ecommerce giant is looking to maintain that momentum with a range of new visual search capabilities on its site, including:
- Visual suggestions: When customers search for an item with a visual description such as “flannel shirt,” Amazon now shows descriptive image suggestions while they’re typing. Customers can select the image that best describes what they’re looking for and browse Amazon’s selection of relevant products;
- Add text to image search: Customers can now add text to any image they upload to Amazon Lens to make their search even more specific. For example, if they upload an image of a beige three-seat sofa, they can add text to specify a brand, color, material or dimensions. Amazon’s search results will surface items similar to the original image, with the parameters set via text;
- More Like This: If a customer loves a dress that appears in their Amazon search results, but wants it in a different length or with sleeves, they can now tap “More Like This” on any product image in the results feed to find similar products and speed up their search;
- Videos in search: When searching in the Amazon Shopping app for home items, appliances, toys or electronics, customers can now watch product videos within the search results to learn more about the item without clicking into the detail page; and
- Circle to search: When customers are looking at an image and spot an item they’re interested in, they can now isolate the item and search for it specifically using our circle feature. After uploading an image to Amazon Lens, they can draw a circle around the item they’d like to search, change the size of the bounding boxes or move the boxes to focus on a different item in the image to find exactly what they’re looking for.
