• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, October 2, 2024

Images influence purchases. This is one reason that generative AI performs well when it comes to shopping apps and features. 

Amazon Lens internal data suggests a 70% increase year-over-year in site traffic worldwide when using this approach. 

On Wednesday, the company announced five visual search features -- from visual suggestions to circle to search.

The new features allow customers to improve their shopping experience. All the new features are currently mobile only and available in the Amazon Shopping App.

Visual suggestions allow customers searching for an item using keywords such as “flannel shirt.” In return the feature will serve up suggestions for descriptive images as the user types the query -- similar to Google Search autocomplete, but with pictures.

Those who are searching can select the image that best describes what they are looking for and browse Amazon’s selection of relevant products.

Customers can now add text to any image they upload to Amazon Lens to make searches more specific.

For example, if they are uploading an image of a beige three-seat sofa, consumers can add text to specify a brand, color, material, or the desired dimensions. Amazon’s search results will surface items similar to the original image, with parameters set via text.

Amazon has added circle to search -- a feature that Google launched in January. When customers view an image on their screen, they can upload it to Amazon Lens and draw a circle around the item they would like to search with the circle feature. They can change the size of the bounding boxes or move the boxes to focus on a different item in the image.

Two other features include "more like this," and "videos in search." "More like this" allows consumers to search for an item such as a dress. But if, for example, the dress appears in the search results but the consumer wants it in a different sleeve length, they can tap “More Like This” on the product image in Amazon’s search results to find similar products and speed up their search. 

"Videos in search" enables consumers to discover new products in the Amazon Shopping app for home items, appliances, toys, or electronics. They can watch product videos within the search results to learn more about the item without clicking on to the detail page, creating an even more seamless shopping experience.