Last weekend, our neighbors gifted us with a fancy new houseplant to welcome us to the community. Lovely as the plant was, none of us has a “green thumb” or even knew anything about the species. Fortunately, I had just read about the new multisearch feature in Google, which helped me identify the type and get care instructions. It was a real life-saver — most of all, for the plant!
If you haven’t heard about Multisearch yet, you’re not alone. The tool is currently only available as a beta feature in English in the U.S. Now that I’ve used it, however, I can’t imagine it not being expanded to other users in the future.
What Is Google Multisearch?
Google multisearch is a feature of the Google app that enables users to perform searches with text and images at the same time. Powered by the latest advancements in artificial intelligence, multisearch lets users ask questions about objects by combining the users’ photos and search queries.
Now that you understand what this exciting new feature can do, let’s explore some different ways you can use the tool in your everyday life.
Explore the World With Google Multisearch
Use your own images and text to search for information about an object.
To help you visualize what exactly this tool enables you to do, I thought I’d share my experience with the mystery houseplant. You can see in the photos above that I used Google Lens (Google app’s built-in camera feature) to capture an image of the plant. Then, I swiped up to get the second screen, which identified the type for me while also giving me the option to add text to my search – see the “+ Add to your search” button at the top of the screen. Next, I typed in the text “care instructions” to get the final screen, which showed me how to be a good caretaker.
It really is that simple. And you’re not limited to plant life; you can use multisearch for other queries like shopping or finding a sofa to go with your fireplace mantle.
Here’s one I played around with for shoes. I’m a big fan of this style, but I really wanted something similar in red:
Not only did the tool help me learn about the brand of shoes, but also what was available in red and where I could go to buy them.
I did this again with the fireplace mantle in my friend’s house to see what it would recommend as a complementary sofa for this room. The results were encouraging:
First, it showed me similar products. Once I added the text “couch” to the search, it gave me some decent photos of rooms with similar mantles and sofa ideas. Not a bad way to get inspired or even do some convenient online shopping.
Once I got going with this new tool, I started imagining other uses in my life. What’s a good paint color for giving this old chair a new look? Where in the world did this restaurant find this wallpaper? How can I get a haircut like THAT one?
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What This Means for Marketers
As much fun as I’ve had with the new Google multisearch feature, it’s important to tie this back to digital marketing. And as far as I can tell, the best plan of action is to ensure all your images and website pages are optimized for search. That way, when someone wants to find one of your products or ideas — or something like it, or to go with something else — you can boost your visibility in the newest way people can search.
If you want to up your skills in digital marketing and learn about new cool tools you can leverage in your career, check out Simplilearn’s digital marketing course offerings today!