Just last month, Google said they were launching their visual search Google Lens as a preview for Pixel devices soon. This was also spotted by some eagle-eyed Googlers, seeing that Assistant will also be getting Lens-ed soon. Now it looks like the roll-out has started as some users are seeing Google Lens in Assistant running on Pixel and Pixel 2 smartphones. Unlike the Lens in Google Photos, the one in Assistant is integrated when you pull up the sheet by pressing the Home button.
In case you didn’t know it yet, Google Lens is an app that lets you do visual search not just from actual photos but from the objects around you, just by pointing your camera at said object. It will be able to identify it, look through the web for more information, and even launch other apps related to it. You will also be able to rate the quality of the search results so that you can help Google improve the service over time.
When you’re using your Google Assistant and you want to launch Google Lens, just tap on the camera button and it will do a search when you tap on the object that you want to identify. The results and actions will appear as carousel of cards. It will have links to either do a search, open an app, or other things you can do. You can see a rectangular overlay on the object and if you want to close it, you can see a close option in the bottom right.
To get a new visual lookup, re-tap the Lens icon on the bottom right and if you want to do a voice search, you can just tap on the microphone. The rollout looks gradual so Pixel owners can expect it to happen in the next few weeks.
VIA: 9 to 5 Google
