Google Lens is now directly in Search: here’s how to use it

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Google has integrated Google Lens into its homepage search bar.

Now all you need to search through the internet is an image or the URL of an image you’ve found online. That expands the number of devices you can use Google Lens on dramatically.

The visual search assistant started as a Pixel phone perk before releasing as a standalone Android app. Then iOS users got access, followed by mobile Chrome and desktop browsers last year.

READ MORE: You can now create AI images directly from Google’s search bar

Now it’s prominently part of Google’s homepage, showing how dedicated the company is to using visual search in the future.

We’ve been playing around with the new feature, and it’s pretty handy. Here’s how to use it.

Here’s how to use Google Lens from Google’s homepage

Google Lens is a valuable tool that was previously limited to mobile devices for the longest time.

Open google.com in your browser and click on the Lens icon

Upload the image you want to use Lens on, or use an URL of an image and click Search

Lens will search, and return what it thinks are relevant results. You can Search, select Text on your image, or Translate any text.

Earlier this year, Lens was added to Google Chrome’s right-click menu. That enabled an easy way to use the power of Lens to search images from any website you are browsing.

Google wants to add more functionality to what it calls multisearch. That’s ways to search that don’t require the exact keywords that normal text-based search runs on.

That way, your smartphone’s camera can be the search terms, and all you have to do is point.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.