Google started beta testing multisearch for Google Lens, what it means for online stores?

At Google, we’re always dreaming up new ways to help you uncover the information you’re looking for — no matter how tricky it might be to express what you need. That’s why today, we’re introducing an entirely new way to search: using text and images at the same time. With multisearch in Lens, you can go beyond the search box and ask questions about what you see.

According to the developers, multisearch is an entirely new way of searching that will help expand search capabilities in different situations, for example, when there are not enough words to describe the item you’re looking for.

How can this innovation impact online stores?

Google believes that online shoppers are looking for more appealing ways to find new items for their closet, so it is testing a beta version of an updated search feature called multisearch that will allow consumers to use images and text to search for items.

For example, a customer has a red dress but would like the same dress but in blue. To find such an offer, it will be enough to take a picture of a product in stock and add the word “blue” to it; the rest will be done by the multi-search engine.

Or users can take a picture of a dining set and add a “coffee table” to find a missing piece of furniture that matches the style. Google claims that the new feature works for screenshots as well.

Currently, the multisearch feature directs users to shopping results. This is because the company has noticed “high user interest” in using visual search to find new products.

A beta version of the multisearch feature is available to users of Google’s Android and iOS apps in the United States. When the innovation will appear in other countries is not yet known.