Look Out, Google: Amazon Is Really Amping Up Its Search Game

Google is facing an antitrust lawsuit from the federal government, but that’s not the only threat to the company’s dominance in the internet search realm.

Amazon is taking on the “visual search” sector by adding new capabilities to its current system.

The ‘Find-on-Amazon’ feature

As you might imagine, a key component of Amazon’s foray into Google territory is a desire to send more traffic to its online marketplace. Thanks to advancements in artificial intelligence and augmented reality, there are some really innovative ways for the company to achieve its goal.

A few of the so-called “Find-on-Amazon” functions that are new or improved include:

• Multimodal search, which combines text keywords and images
• Results based on photos users share with the Amazon app
• An upgraded visual search engine to help find just the right product
• Augmented reality allows users to virtually rearrange spaces

Some of these features might sound familiar to you, and that’s probably because Google has already unveiled them. There’s a “Lens” search function on the Google homepage and its version of multisearch has been available since last year.

Pinterest is also in the crosshairs

Google might be the biggest target of Amazon’s latest search updates, but there’s another player in this arena that is likely to see some of the demand for its services decrease as a result.

By allowing users to search for photos uploaded from anywhere (emails, social media, cameras, etc.), it’s easier than ever to share an image with Amazon and get results. You don’t have to know anything about an item to find it and buy it directly.

That particular function is very similar to one pioneered by Pinterest.

Amazon has shown a keen ability to enter and soon dominate a host of industries before it, and we might be witnessing yet another example.

Chris Agee September 15th, 2023

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