Amazon Debuts Lens Live, A Real-Time Visual Search To Rival Google Lens, Pinterest

Amazon.com Inc. AMZN launched Lens Live on Tuesday, upgrading its visual search capabilities with artificial intelligence to enable real-time product scanning and discovery for U.S. shoppers.Real-Time Scanning Technology DebutsThe new feature builds upon Amazon’s existing Lens tool by adding instant product recognition as users point their cameras at items in the physical world. Lens Live displays matching products in a swipeable carousel at the bottom of the screen, eliminating the need to capture static images.“Lens Live instantly scans products and shows real-time matches in a swipeable carousel to make finding the right item easier,” said Trishul Chilimbi, Vice President and Distinguished Scientist, Stores Foundational AI at Amazon.The tool operates through AWS-managed Amazon OpenSearch and Amazon SageMaker services, deploying machine learning models at scale for immediate product identification.Rufus Integration Powers Smart ShoppingAmazon integrated its AI shopping assistant Rufus into Lens Live, providing users with conversational prompts and product summaries during camera scanning. The feature displays suggested questions and key product insights beneath the carousel interface.Users can tap items directly in the camera view to focus on specific products, add items to their cart via the plus icon, or save to wish lists using the heart icon—all without leaving the camera interface.Strategic Market PositioningThe launch positions Amazon against competitors Alphabet Inc.‘s GOOGL GOOG Google Lens and Pinterest Inc.‘s PINS Pinterest Lens in the visual search market. Amazon reported that Lens usage grew over 50% in the past year, with tens of millions of monthly users and photo searches more than doubling annually.The feature capitalizes on existing consumer behavior of comparison shopping in physical stores to find better Amazon deals, according to the company.Limited Initial RolloutLens Live initially launches for “tens of millions” of U.S. customers on the Amazon Shopping iOS app, with broader U.S. rollout planned for the coming months. Amazon has not announced international expansion plans.The feature complements existing Lens capabilities, including photo uploads, barcode scanning, and the recently introduced Circle to Search function for multi-product images. Jim Cramer Says ‘Apple Own It Don’t Trade It’ After Judge Allows Google To Keep Search Deal With iPhone Maker: Stock Jumps 3% After Hours Photo courtesy: Markus Mainka / Shutterstock.com