Bing Visual Search: 10 Cool Things You Can Do With It

Bing Visual Search: 10 Cool Things You Can Do With It.

Reverse image search tools like Bing’s visual search are more than just a gimmick. You can use them to speed up your browsing and have some fun.

In this article, we will talk about visual search and how to use it. We then look at ten creative ways to use visual search to speed up your web experience.

What Is Bing’s Visual Search?

Released by Microsoft in 2009, Visual Search is Bing’s image search engine (not to be confused with Microsoft Edge, Microsoft‘s successor to Internet Explorer). Using artificial intelligence (AI), visual search combines reverse image search with several other intelligent visual search capabilities that allow you to search the web using your camera.

Instead of the usual Bing search bar, visual search works on an uploaded image. For example, if you take a photo of an item or landmark and upload it to visual search, it will attempt to identify the image and provide you with similar photos and links to more information.

Visual search is available on Bing.com, and on the Android and iOS apps. In addition, there is now a Bing Visual Search API that websites and applications can use to display image details to their users.

How to Use Visual Search

To use visual search, download the visual search website or open the Bing app, upload a photo, and click Search.

To use Visual Search on PC:

Open the visual search web page in a browser. Where it says “Drag image here”, you can drag the image file into the search field, take a photo with your device, paste the image’s URL, or search for the desired photo on your computer.

Once you do this, Bing will load a page with whatever text appears in the image, links to relevant information, and any related content found on the web.

To use Visual Search on a mobile device:

Open the Bing app.Tap the visual search icon to perform a new visual search.

Take a photo or select an image from the gallery to search in Bing.

10 Cool Things You Can Do With Visual Search

Here are ten fun things you can do with visual search:

1. Identify plants or wildlife

One of the most interesting uses of visual search is when you want to know what species a particular bird, animal, plant, or insect belongs to. Once upon a time, you had to contact the local museum or send messages to an expert on the Internet. Now all you have to do is take a picture and upload it to visual search. This works for cat and dog breeds too!

Unfortunately, Bing isn’t as good at this as some of its competitors like Google Lens or more specific apps, but it still gives you a rough idea (and it’s a lot easier than typing a description of an item!).

2. Identify landmarks

Similar to identifying wildlife, Bing image search can identify famous landmarks and display additional information about them.

If you see an interesting picture online or are right in front of a point of interest, simply search for the picture using Bing. You will get results that will most likely be a guide, as well as links that may give you some information.

3. Find the source

The most common use of inverse image tools such as visual search is to find the source of an image.

Searching for an image or screenshot in visual search will give you a list of all similar images that can be found on the web. Using this, you can find the oldest source or information about an image that tells you where it comes from.

This is useful when you want to check facts, find a source (if you’re writing an article or assignment), or give credit to the rightful owner.

4. Compare products

If you see a product that you like the look of, such as a piece of furniture or clothing, you can upload an image to Visual Search to find similar products.

It’s a fun way to shop as it allows you to compare products that you may never have found. Let’s say you want to find white heels. Just search the white heels picture and see what happens!

5. Find unlabeled products

If you browse Instagram, Pinterest and other similar sites, you will come across unlabeled (or mislabeled) products. It’s a pain when you want to research a product but you just can’t find the product name or even the brand to search for.

With visual search, simply search for an image and Bing will show you the closest related items it can find.

This works best when the image is from a catalog, but can work with other elements as well. Worst case scenario, you will still find a similar product that suits your needs!

6. Find someone’s name

Visual search is useful if you see a picture of a celebrity, politician, or someone in a public place and want to know their name and learn more about them. It can be an image of their entire body or just their faces.

All you have to do is visually search for an image (or take a photo and do a visual search), and there you have it.

Another use for this is if you see a screenshot or meme on social media and want to determine what movie it is from or who is in the picture.

7. Detect fake profiles and news

These days, social media and the internet are awash with misinformation and scammers using fake accounts. The good news is that tools like visual search can quickly help you determine if something or someone is real or fake.

For example, if you’re in doubt about the source of an image (let’s say it’s a controversial image with false claims), you can easily connect it to a visual search and discover the source.

The same goes for suspicious profiles. Find your profile picture in visual search – if it’s linked to multiple accounts, it’s most likely a scam account.

8. Find a high resolution wallpaper

If you see a wallpaper or background image that you would like to use, you can upload it to visual search to find the original high resolution upload.

9. Find original artists

In addition, you can also use visual search to find the creators of original graphics, wallpapers, and art you find online. This is especially useful when you find an image somewhere that is not credited (or has been reproduced online without permission).

10. Find out if people have stolen your images

Our final visual search tip is for artists and designers who post their work online. Often photographers, artists, graphic designers, etc. have their own websites where they list their work for purchase. Unfortunately, many people use this to illegally acquire and reproduce artwork, either for self-printing or to attempt to claim ownership and sell it online.

With visual search, you can find out exactly who has copied and downloaded your images and take action against them.

Better Than Text Search?

That’s it – 10 cool ways to use Microsoft‘s Bing Visual Search. As technology advances, it can be expected that visual search and other inverse image tools will become more powerful and functional. I hope you can use these visual search features to save time and learn more about the world around you.