Amazon added five new visual search features to its mobile shopping app in recent months “to help you quickly find what you’re looking for on Amazon,” according to a post written by Mita Mahadevan, Director of Visual Search and Search Relevance at Amazon.
Amazon has seen a 70% increase year-over-year in visual searches worldwide as customers use these new features, Mahadevan said in her October 2nd post on the Amazon corporate blog.
One of the more intriguing changes is the ability to add text to an image search: “Customers can now add text to any image they upload to Amazon Lens to make their search even more specific. For example, if they upload an image of a beige three-seat sofa, they can add text to specify a brand, color, material, or desired dimensions. Amazon’s search results will surface items similar to the original image, with the parameters set via text.”
Another change allows shoppers to circle an item when viewing an image in Amazon Lens so they can isolate the search to that specific item.
Mahadevan highlighted the following additional features Amazon has added:
Visual suggestions: When customers search for an item with a visual description such as “flannel shirt,” Amazon now shows descriptive image suggestions while they’re typing. Customers can select the image that best describes what they’re looking for and browse Amazon’s selection of relevant products.
More like this: If a customer loves a dress that appears in their search results, but wants it in a different length or with sleeves, they can simply tap “More Like This” on any product image in Amazon’s search results to find similar products and speed up their search.
Videos in search: When searching in the Amazon Shopping app for home items, appliances, toys, or electronics, customers can now watch product videos within the search results without clicking on a product, creating an even more seamless shopping experience.
“We’re always inventing to improve the shopping experience on Amazon,” she said, “from introducing our new generative AI-powered shopping assistant, Rufus, to using generative AI for customer review highlights and improved product recommendations and descriptions.”
