Wired Wisdom: From travel to translating, how Google Lens simplifies life

As technology continues to push boundaries, Google Lens has proved itself as an efficient tool to enrich our understanding of the world.

It also simplifies our lives.

It was my most-used app when travelling Armenia since I could easily translate directions and road signs.

What is Google Lens?

Google Lens, which is available for both Android and iOS, allows users to transform any visual element into a search query.

The tool is also gaining traction worldwide, with Google saying more than 12 billion visual searches are conducted through the app every month.

While I use Google Lens primarily as a translation tool – see example below of translating a sign at a historic site in Armenia – it has other purposes as well.

Image search

If you want information about everyday objects or place, Google Lens has your back.

Simply take a photo and let the app identify the object or location.

It will provide useful links related to your search – regardless of whether it is an object, a landmark, a plant, animal, etc.

It can even identify skin conditions. Struggling to describe a peculiar mole or rash? Simply take a picture or upload an image through Lens.

The tool will search for visually similar conditions, equipping you with more informed insights about your skin condition.

Travel companion

Google Lens is the perfect travel companion since it can translate street signs, menus and other bits and pieces of text, in more than 100 languages.

It’s as easy as pointing your camera at the text. Google Lens will overlay the translation onto the image, as shown below:

And since it shows the translation directly on your phone screen, you don’t even have to take a photo.

Homework assistance

Google Lens also provides step-by-step assistance when it comes to solving homework problems, be it in math, history, or even science.

All it requires is a picture of the problem, and Lens provides instructions to tackle it.

Notably, this feature supports multiple languages and allows users to set their preferred language for search results.

Shopping buddy

If shopping is your thing, Google Lens is a lifesaver. Spotted a product you want to buy while browsing on your phone?

Take a screenshot of the product, open it in Lens and select the shopping option.

The app will search the vastness of the internet and return a list of online options to purchase the product.

Want that product in a different colour? Lens will find it for you.

READ: Google rolls out more AI features for Gmail, docs and more

Generative AI integration

Finally, Google Lens also integrates with Bard, Google’s generative artificial intelligence (AI) experiment.

This enables you to use Bard’s generative AI to learn more about an image or even explore new ideas.

You can now include images in your Bard prompts, and Lens will help Bard understand what’s being shown.

READ: ChatGPT rival: Google launches Bard chatbot in US and UK