Is text search becoming obsolete? After its introduction on Google, Lens could well arrive on YouTube.
When words are hard to find, pictures can be a big help. In any case, you may have experienced it many times when you are looking for something. Whether it’s finding the name of a painting, the species of a weed or the price of a desk lamp with an unpronounceable Swedish name, visual recognition applications can work miracles. And, in this regard, Google Lens is particularly good.
It is therefore not for nothing that the Mountain View firm highlights it alongside classic text search on its search engine. For now, the results come from the latter, but they could soon come from elsewhere. Indeed, Google announced on its website that it was experimenting with the use of Lens on its streaming platform.
This feature is accessible via a new button in YouTube’s search bar, and allows users to find videos using a smartphone camera. Are you looking for a trailer for a film currently showing at the cinema? All you have to do is take a photo of your poster and Lens takes care of the rest while only showing video results.
For the moment, this new tool is only tested with a “ small percentage of viewers watching YouTube on Android mobile devices “. We will therefore have to wait a little before it is deployed to all users, on the Google OS and elsewhere. At least, if it sees the light of day.
A new feature for a new way of getting information
The integration of Lens on YouTube is not a surprise. Social media of this type, or even TikTok, are increasingly used for searching on the Internet. Google is therefore keeping up with the times here. However, there is no question for the company of putting its search engine on the shelf, since this new experience still includes a “ Search on Google », if the results coming from the video platform are not enough.
This feature is one of multiple projects underway on YouTube. In addition to all its efforts against ad blockers, it is also testing an overhaul of its interface while developing new AI-powered features. The experience on the platform could well evolve in the coming months. We can’t wait to see what the American giant has in store for us, for better or for worse.
