Google has worked to integrate Lens into many other apps to help users find relevant image information quickly. The tool has been part of the Google Chrome mobile app since 2019 as a de facto way to perform image searches. Lens finally arrived in desktop Chrome as a direct replacement for right-click reverse image search. Now it’s updated to do more than just search for images.
When Lens first came to desktop chrome, right-clicking on an image brought up a “Find image using Google Lens” option. When you clicked, you were taken to a website lens.google.com/search with the image in question on the left (with the ability to crop and focus), while the generated results appeared on the right. With the new update, the left column with the image now gives you three new options: Search, Text, and Translate, according to 9to5Google.
Search is the default reverse image search engine, always with the ability to crop any part of your image. However, you now get a “Find Image Source” shortcut that opens Google Images. This means you can still use the original image search experience (which Google ditched in favor of Lens), even if it adds an extra step. On the other hand, Text and Translate allows you to click and select part of text (or all of it), copy it, listen to it, translate it or search for it. The two tabs are also interchangeable, allowing you to copy text from Translate and translate words (or phrases) from Text.
The translation user interface is very similar to the mobile app interface. First, Lens automatically detects the language, although you can set it manually. It then displays the translations directly over the original text and lists them in the right sidebar, where you can easily copy them if you wish. You can even open the text directly inside translate.google.com for a more robust experience.
The changes appear to be widely available to Chrome 100 users for Windows, Mac, and Chrome OS.
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