What is Google Lens?

Google Lens is a visual search tool built into Google's apps. Point your camera at almost anything and it uses AI to identify it, find information about it, or take useful actions — translate text, find similar products, identify species, copy handwritten notes and more.

How to Access Google Lens

  • iPhone: Open the Google app → tap the camera/Lens icon in the search bar
  • Android: Open the Google app → tap the camera icon, or long-press your home screen and select Lens, or use it directly in Google Photos
  • From a photo: Open any photo in Google Photos → tap the Lens icon at the bottom
  • Chrome on Android: Long-press any image on a webpage → Search image with Google Lens

What Google Lens Can Do

  1. 1

    Identify objects and find information

    Point at any object — furniture, clothing, a landmark, artwork, an animal, a plant — and Lens identifies it and shows related search results. Great for identifying a plant in your garden, finding the name of a piece of furniture, or learning about a painting at a museum.

  2. 2

    Translate text in real time

    Point at text in a foreign language and Lens translates it on screen in real time, overlaying the translation onto the original text. Works on menus, signs, books and handwritten notes. Select the Translate option at the bottom of the Lens screen.

  3. 3

    Copy text from the real world

    Point at any printed or handwritten text — a receipt, whiteboard, book, business card. Lens extracts all the text which you can then copy, share or search. Far faster than typing. Select Text mode at the bottom of the screen.

  4. 4

    Find similar products and shopping

    Point at a piece of clothing, furniture, home decor or any product and Lens finds visually similar items for sale online. Useful for finding where to buy something you have seen but do not know the name of. Select Shopping mode.

  5. 5

    Solve maths problems

    Point at a printed or handwritten maths problem and Lens recognises and solves it, showing working steps. Works for arithmetic, algebra, equations and some calculus.

  6. 6

    Identify plants, animals and food

    Point at a plant, flower, insect, bird or food dish. Lens identifies the species or dish and provides information. Very useful in gardens, nature and restaurants.

Tip: Search any imageIn Google Images on desktop, click the camera icon in the search bar to upload an image or paste a URL — this uses Lens to find visually similar images and pages containing that image.

Frequently Asked Questions

Very accurate for well-known objects, species, landmarks and products. Less reliable for rare plants, obscure objects or poor lighting conditions. For plants especially, always verify with a secondary source before consuming anything identified by Lens.
No — Lens requires an internet connection to process images and return results. Some basic translation features may work offline if you have downloaded language packs in Google Translate.