Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET
Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.
ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Lens Live scans products for real-time shopping suggestions.
- Amazon’s AI assistant can answer questions, offer details.
- The feature is currently available to some US users on iOS.
Have you ever seen an item in a brick-and-mortar store and figured you could get it for a better price on Amazon, but couldn’t string together the right keywords to find it online?
Amazon Lens was designed to solve this problem by photographing an item and generating similar product results. Now, the new Lens Live feature makes the Amazon tool more interactive, allowing you to scan an item with your phone camera and find similar items in the Amazon Shopping app.
Also: Amazon adding 1,300 more cities to its same-day grocery delivery service – check yours here
Upon opening Lens Live, the Amazon Lens camera scans the products in frame and shows the top results in a carousel at the bottom of the screen. The new feature allows customers to add items directly to their cart or wishlist from the Lens Live screen.
Amazon’s AI shopping assistant, Rufus, is integrated into Lens Live and offers suggested questions and product summaries. Shoppers can ask Rufus questions about a product and receive answers without leaving the Lens Live camera view.
Also: Amazon is quietly axing a big Prime shipping perk. Here’s what’s going away – and when
The primary difference between Amazon Lens and Lens Live is interactivity and convenience. Amazon Lens requires users to take a live photo, upload a photo, or scan a product’s barcode. Once the media is uploaded, the user is taken to the traditional Amazon shopping list of products, tapping into each one to see frequently asked questions and product features.
Lens Live keeps users on the same screen to view pricing, Prime eligibility, frequently asked questions, and product features. Lens Live also permits users to scan multiple products with their phone camera without leaving the Lens application.
Also: Got a suspicious Amazon refund text? Don’t click the link – it’s a scam
Amazon has begun rolling out Lens Live to “tens of millions” of US customers, with widespread availability coming in the next few months. Currently, the feature is only available on iOS. Once Lens Live is available to all US Amazon customers, they will still have the option to use the traditional Lens options.
