Google continues to avoid copying Apple and make most of its services exclusive to Android, and it’s the right approach, especially if you want to keep the chance of convincing some Apple fans to your own ecosystem.
But what can you do with Google Lens on YouTube Shorts? For example, whenever you’re watching a Short recorded in a location that you consider visiting, you’ll be able to select a landmark to identify it. That way, you’ll be able to learn more about the destination in terms of culture and history, if you’re interested in these kinds of things.
Once it drops, here is how you’ll be able to take advantage of the new Google Lens on YouTube Shorts functionality:
- Go to the YouTube mobile app, then open the Shorts player by either tapping the Shorts tab or a Short you see on Home
- Pause the Short by tapping on the screen
- Select “Lens” in the top menu then draw, highlight, or tap on anything you’re watching to search via Google Lens
- You’ll see visual matches and search results overlaid on the Short (and from there you can easily quickly jump back into the content you were watching)
If needed, YouTube Shorts users can tap translate on the lower right side of the screen to translate any captions in the video.
It’s important to mention that Google Lens will not be available for Shorts with YouTube Shopping affiliate links or with paid product promotions. More importantly, there won’t be any ads shown in the search results during the beta phase of Lens in Shorts.
According to Google, the new Lens experience for YouTube Shorts is rolling out to all viewers this week, but it will take weeks to reach everyone. Also, as mentioned earlier, this is only available on Android and iOS mobile devices.
Despite the fact that YouTube Shorts bring almost no money to creators, regardless of how many millions view they make, it’s a good way to drive new audiences to your YouTube channel. Google Lens is hopefully going to improve the chance of gaining new fans for YouTube creators.
