Google launches new image search

Google is adding the ability to do searches with just an image (official announcement here) which looks to compete directly with TinEye.com a site I use whenever I want to see who shot something or where it has been used (*what’s up with all these Russian blogs with copies of your images on them, makes zero sense). I see this being a very useful tool for photo editors who want to fact check something in an image or find out who shot something they like. Also, it seems like it would deter any legitimate businesses stealing images off the web. A simple image search will reveal the source (*sometimes I’ll see a suspicious image on a site and do a google image search for the keywords on the story and discover they pulled it off page 1. Really!?).
We’ll have to see how it plays out, but on the surface it seems like a good development for professional photography. With so much imagery flying around there’s a need for things that are original and unique.

Google Announces New Image Search

Google has unveiled a new search technology that lets you find information just by uploading a picture - bringing Android's Google Goggles mobile technology to its regular web search engine.

The new search by image feature lets users search by either uploading a picture of their own, or using a picture already on the web. Google then searches for images similar to it, and returns search results about the thing the picture is of.

It's the same technology that's been available on Android smart phones since 2009 in the form of Google Goggles, which let users take a picture with their phone's camera and search for similar images.

The search doesn't always work with pictures of just anything - it's most effective with things like landmarks, artworks, and (apparently) unusual animals.

Google also announced a bundle of other new search features, including bringing voice search to the desktop (another feature imported from Android), Google Instant for Images, and something called Instant Pages, which in Google's Chrome browser pre-loads popular pages before you click on the search results, meaning you see them far quicker.

The new features will be rolled out to users on Google.com over the coming week.