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Google Lens Guide – Visual Search And Assistance – Google Lens is a truly impressive tool that almost everyone will find useful in their daily life.
Google Lens is the visual search tool you never knew you needed. Think of it like Google Search, but for images. You can use it to find information about things you see, translate and copy text from photos, get help with your homework, and more. The best part? No input is required.
Google Lens Guide – Visual Search And Assistance
Launched in 2017, Google Lens is available for Android or iOS and is integrated into Google Assistant, Google Photos, some camera apps, and the Chrome browser.
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Google Lens leverages Google’s vast amounts of data, web services, and machine learning algorithms. Although less popular than other Google services, Lens is a truly impressive tool that virtually everyone will find useful in their daily life.
Google Lens compares the photo you just took (or even the image in your viewfinder) with a large database of images from the Internet. Machine learning algorithms sort and rank indexed images based on how well they match your shots.
The lens tries to “understand” what is shown in the image. When it “sees” text, links, or QR codes, it gives you the option to interact with those elements. Photographing a landmark like the Eiffel Tower will give you insight into it. If the image contains a product such as headphones, Lens will provide useful links to retailers where you can purchase that product. The list goes on and on.
Google is constantly improving Lens with new features, just like its flagship product Google Search. Below is a selection of the best Google Lens features you can use right now.
Download And Use Google Lens On Pc & Mac (emulator)
For this Google Lens guide, we’ll assume you want to purchase the standalone Google Lens app for Android as that’s the best way to experience it. To do this, click on the link below to install the application.
Google Lens is also part of Google’s main application, which comes pre-installed on all Android phones. To access it, tap the “Camera” icon in the application’s search box. You can also open it via Google Assistant using the “Open Lens” voice command.
Some Android phone manufacturers integrate the lens into their camera apps. Look for the lens icon in the interface or in the overlay on the viewfinder.
Google Lens is also integrated into Google Photos on Android. Simply open an image in Google Photos and click the lens icon at the bottom of the screen.
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On iOS devices, Google Lens is available through the Google app in the App Store. Note that you cannot use Lens when you go to the Google search page in your browser.
No matter how you open it, Google Lens is easy to use. When you open it, you should see a viewfinder and a camera roll with your recent photos. Tap the viewfinder to take a new photo or view an old photo from the camera roll.
You can also use it for screenshots and other images stored on your phone – tap the down arrow icon next to screenshots to view all files.
When you scan a photo with Google Lens, you’ll see a shutter button and a slider that lets you switch between modes supported by the app:
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Depending on which mode you use, Lens allows you to interact with the image content by copying text, opening links, saving contact information, and more.
Have you ever seen an important sign written in a foreign language? Google Lens to the rescue.
You can use Google Lens as a visual translator for many languages. Simply point the app at the text you want to translate and wait a few minutes. Lens tries to recognize the language. However, if this doesn’t work automatically, you can manually select a language pair.
The application overlays the translated text on the original image. It works best when you have a clear and unobstructed view of the text. Even if it is not complete, it is usually enough to understand the gist of the text.
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This incredibly useful feature has long been part of Google Translate, but its inclusion in Lens makes it even more accessible.
Once you have a translated text, you can copy it, send it to your computer, use it as a search term, listen to it or transfer it to the Google Translate application.
With Google Lens, you can copy printed or even handwritten text from almost anywhere and quickly turn it into editable text that you can interact with on your phone or computer.
Simply point your phone at the text you want to copy and click the Fly button. Lens highlights any recognized text and allows you to select. From there you can copy it, use it as a search term, translate it or send it to your computer.
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Transferring text from your phone to your computer is a particularly useful feature of Google Lens. Let’s say you want to copy several passages from a book and not write them by hand. Take a picture using Google Lens, then select the text you want and click Copy to Computer. The Chrome browser will display a list of the devices you have connected to. Select the desired computer and the text will be pasted to the clipboard. Just paste it into any text field or press Ctrl-V/Cmd-V to display it.
When Google Lens detects a URL in an image, it offers you the option to open the link. Just take a photo; In most cases the URL will be published automatically. In some cases you may need to switch to text mode and/or manually highlight the URL. From there, you should see a bullet button with a globe icon that will take you to the relevant URL.
QR codes have become ubiquitous, but some phone manufacturers still don’t integrate QR recognition into their camera apps. With Lens, you can simply point the phone at the code you want to open and wait for an overlay to open with the code’s web address. Click on it and there you go.
Likewise, you can scan barcodes on products ranging from books to personal electronics. This can be particularly useful if you want to identify a product or find a purchase link for it.
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If you take a photo of something that Google can reasonably identify, Lens will display search results for that object. This is the replacement option you get if the other options (Text, Barcode, Shopping, etc.) don’t apply.
If you take a photo of something very common, such as a sunset, you will be shown images that match your photo. However, in general, Google will always try to understand the content of the image rather than just returning the most visually similar image.
When you point the lens at a dog or cat, the app finds photos of animals that resemble your pet. In many cases, you will find out what breed the pet is.
If you reference a consumer product, Lens is generally good at identifying the product and providing the most relevant results for it. A scan of my Xbox controller revealed links to retailers selling the same model and a few news sites that reported on it. Scanning barcodes or product labels is another great way to find an exact match.
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In December 2022, Google began testing new features in Google Photos. While looking at photos and illustrations, some users noticed that a new search button replaces the lens button. Users can tap the search button to find other photos with that person’s face.
If you click the Lens button beforehand, you can search for similar images online as described in the previous section. However, this new functionality specifically searches for people in your own photo library. Additionally, if you tap on a person’s face, other images of that person will also appear.
The feature appears to be a limited test and there is no clear indication that it will become a permanent part of Photos in the future. It’s worth checking out if you have it.
What’s notable is that Google Photos is now very good at recognizing and tagging people later, even if their faces aren’t visible.
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If you’re as hopeless at math as I am, you’ll appreciate Google Lens’ ability to help you solve equations. You can point the camera at simple formulas or school questions and click “Homework.” Be sure to highlight the formula and double-check that the application selected it correctly (Lens sometimes misinterprets mathematical symbols). Lens then displays the message “Your Math Problem” and provides links to specific websites that help solve problems, such as: B. Tiger Algebra.
Homework Help isn’t the most reliable feature of Google Lens, but it can still be an important tool for students. The goal is to help you understand the problem, not just solve it for you.
In June 2023, Google introduced new AI features for Lens, allowing users to take photos and recognize their skin.
