Lens Becomes the Primary Visual Search Experience on Desktop Google Images

A few months back, Google seemingly phased out the “Search Google for this image” option. At the same time, Google was testing Lens in desktop mode. Finally, it seems the old google images is being phased out, and replaced with the Google Lens option, even on desktop Google Images website. 

By visiting this link, users will be able to find the new lens logo in-between voice and regular search. It’s still possible to perform the older image search by tapping “Find image source”.  

Part of the reason why Google was phasing out the older reverse image search was because, it wasn’t very intuitive. Users had to save a picture, and then upload it and get results. With Google lens, users can immediately take a picture or drag and upload any files for the relevant information. 

So now the seniors searched their surroundings directly: Scanned trees, plants, animals and buildings, used Translate to get hold of Turkish language menu cards or Japanese sayings, and found product declarations through barcode scanning

– Google Event for Seniors in Denmark

Also, the company wants to change the purpose of it’s reverse image search into something more meaningful. With Google Lens, the company is able to leverage it’s magical algorithms to find information and context on anything unknown with the click of a picture, be it a sign in an unknown language, a random tree or even animals. Earlier this year, Google even invited a group of seniors to try out Lens, helping them find information on day-to-day stuff they come across. This again highlights how Google is setting up lens to be a discovery tool first.