Prabhakar Raghavan, Chief Technologist, Google
GOOGLE LENS: MAKING THE PHYSICAL WORLD SEARCHABLE
Google Lens is the culmination of years of AI research, turning the smartphone camera into a multi-modal search interface that understands context.
Beyond object recognition, Lens combines computer vision with Google’ s other core strengths: language translation, search indexing and the Knowledge Graph. This allows it to not just see an object, but provide actionable information about it.
The technology now powers over 10 billion visual searches a month. As Prabhakar Raghavan, Google’ s former Senior VP of Knowledge & Information and now Chief Technologist, explains:“ In the real world, it’ s not just about identifying an object. You might need to ask a follow-up question. With multisearch, you can use a picture and then add text... It’ s about creating a more natural and intuitive way to find what you’ re looking for.”
This“ multisearch2 capability, allowing users to snap a photo of a chair and add the text query“ in blue, 2 showcases the platform’ s sophistication. It’ s a fundamental shift from static, text-based queries to a dynamic, visual conversation with the world, all powered by AI.
102 November 2025