Pinterest Can Now Search Visually Within Pins For Similar Items

Pinterest has just announced a useful new feature that will make it easier for users to find items they discover in pins. Following recent additions that brought shopping and buying features to the social network, Pinterest's website and mobile apps are getting a tool that will visually search for things within images. If users see something like a lamp or chair in a photo that they are interested in, Pinterest will search it database to find the exact item, or those that are visually similar.

To use visual search, all users need to do is press the search button, place an adjustable box on the photo, and then re-size it to fit over the desired item. Adding keywords that describe the item will help focus and narrow down what Pinterest is searching for.

If users find the item they want in the search results, they'll be able to purchase it using the site's new shopping features. Visual search aims to not only help users save time but offer a new way to use Pinterest as a shopping tool. The update will be rolling out to the web and mobile apps starting today.

"Sometimes you spot something you really love on Pinterest, but you don't know how to find it in real life, or what it's even called," the site's announcement said, with a post on the Pinterest technical blog adding, "There are dozens of interesting items within a Pin's image; we want to give Pinners a tool to learn more about these items."

SOURCE Pinterest