Google’s ‘Multisearch Near Me’ search feature combines image and text to show matching products available locally.
Google earlier this year rolled out an improved version of its popular ‘Near me’ feature to include nearby areas of interest based on a combination of image and text. Dubbed ‘Multisearch Near me’, this new address finder feature in itself builds on top of another search feature released earlier last year called ‘multisearch’ that uses AI to find matching products.
Finding local products have never been easier
Google believes that the multisearch business finder feature would encourage buyers to shop locally and thus help boost the local economy. As well as small purchases like apparel, this could also come in handy if you’re looking to invest in a cool new door you’ve seen somewhere or even professional or hobby-based tools like welding fabrication table.
Wondering how do you use it? Let’s say you’re in and around Kilworthy, Canada and you have come across a beautiful steel building that you would like recreated for your business. And for this, you would want to know about the construction businesses that do this kind of work in your area.
To get started, you need to enable your location and open up the Google app on your phone. Then, tap on the Google lens icon and take a picture of the building in question. Now, you need to swipe up, click the ‘Add to your search’ button and add ‘near me’ as the search text.
On search completion, you will get a list of construction companies specialized in steel works such as Prestige Steel Buildings. It’s that easy!
While multi-search-based queries are great for finding product and hardware-based services, it is worth noting that they are not ideal for certain service-based industries.
For instance, the feature might not be particularly suitable in case of queries such as ‘beauty salons near me’ or ‘divorce lawyers near me‘ for obvious reasons.
Conclusion
‘Multisearch Near me’ is among Google’s latest attempts at rolling out AI-based upgrades to its popular products, including the search engine. Needless to say, it is a prime example of how the tech giant leverages technology to improve our daily lives. By seamlessly combining visual and textual search and connecting users with local businesses, this handy feature is sure set to revolutionize the way we shop locally.
