Snapchat is working on improving its visual search features and is planning to highlight them by putting them at the center of the app. The features that are now brought to the app are the ones that were announced during the Partner Summit event that took place in May. The new features include the “scan” feature getting a more prominent place in the app. It will now be found under the camera’s shutter button. A new feature that will recommend lenses and music according to the user’s surroundings is also added.
Snapchat introduced the visual search feature called “scan” in 2019. With this feature, users will be able to identify plants and music, food and wine labels, and even solve math problems with the in-app camera. Until now, because of the less visibility of the feature, users were not keen on availing of this function. It needed a few extra taps to access this feature. But in the new update, this feature will be visible whenever the user opens his/her camera.
More advanced features are also being added by Snapchat. It adds functions to shop for outfits by pointing the camera at articles of clothing. The Camera Shortcuts that will be added will give recommendations for augmented reality lenses and music. The recommendations will be based on one’s surroundings. The added importance of the scan feature that Snapchat now highlights shows that the company’s priority is not a messaging app but a visual search engine. Snap has also added a scanning feature on its AR Spectacles which also gives out recommendations based on one’s surroundings.
Snap is looking to become on par with TikTok and Instagram with the visual search feature. The company is also working on more camera shortcuts to Spotlight, as The Verge reported.
