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    Google Search goes ‘Live’ with real-time camera help

    Google Search Live will offer explanations, suggestions, and links based on what you see in real time via your camera.

    Google today announced Search Live, a new feature that lets users have real-time conversations with Search using their smartphone camera. The tool builds on Google’s work in visual search and AI, combining the capabilities of Google Lens and Project Astra.

    How it works. Users can tap a new Live icon in either Lens or AI Mode. After pointing their camera at an object, they can ask questions about it. Search Live responds in real time with explanations, suggestions, and links to relevant websites, videos, and forums.

    What it looks like. Here’s a video showing how Search Live works:

    Why we care. Search Live highlights Google’s ongoing push toward multimodal search, where text, images, and now live video with voice are all combined. (Google says more than 1.5 billion people use Lens to search visually each month.) Search Live adds a new conversational layer to Google that helps searchers understand not just what they ask, but what they see.

    Dig deeper. More Google I/O news from today:


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    About the Author

    Danny Goodwin

    Danny Goodwin is Editorial Director of Search Engine Land & Search Marketing Expo - SMX. He joined Search Engine Land in 2022 as Senior Editor. In addition to reporting on the latest search marketing news, he manages Search Engine Land’s SME (Subject Matter Expert) program. He also helps program U.S. SMX events.

    Goodwin has been editing and writing about the latest developments and trends in search and digital marketing since 2007. He previously was Executive Editor of Search Engine Journal (from 2017 to 2022), managing editor of Momentology (from 2014-2016) and editor of Search Engine Watch (from 2007 to 2014). He has spoken at many major search conferences and virtual events, and has been sourced for his expertise by a wide range of publications and podcasts.