Google I/O 2022: Make searching easier with multisearch

(Image Courtesy: Google)

Google has been working to make the way users search, more intuitive and more natural. Whether it be humming that song that is stuck in your head in your search box, or using your phone's camera to search visually using Google Lens.

Last month, Google introduced a brand new way to search that combines text, speech and images to fine-tune what you are looking for. The company calls it multisearch.

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Multisearch works by opening your Google app on iOS and Android, and then tapping on the Lens camera icon to take a photo of an object in the world around you, that you need more information on. For example - a dress that has caught your fancy or more information about a species of plant.

You can then fine-tune this query by adding text, say the dress you are looking at is orange in color but you want to know what it looks like in green. Simply take a photo of the dress using Lens and then add the text "green". Google will then search online and display those results.

You can try this on things like a dining set, simply take a photo of the set and add the text "coffee table" to find a matching table for the set.

Google is expanding multisearch further, by adding local information to the search results. When using multisearch, you can add the text identifier "near me" to the photo, and Google will populate your results with hits from local businesses that have the apparel, products or food items you are looking for.

For example - when you search for a food item using multisearch, Google will scout millions of images and reviews posted on the web, and then combine it with hits from Maps to give you nearby spots where you can try the food item.

Local information will be rolled out globally later this year in English, with support for more languages being added over time.

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Coming sometime in the near future, Google Lens will be updated with the ability to let you explore items in front of you, and gain useful insights at a glance, without having to leave your camera frame.

For example - Imagine you are scrolling through a section of books in a store, and want to find out what reviews they have. With scene exploration, you will be able to use Lens to quickly scan the bookshelf and see the review results overlaid on top of the books themselves, with review scores and ratings, without having to leave the viewfinder.