Google is introducing enhancements to Google Lens and Circle to Search. These updates will incorporate more links, knowledge panel information, and new AI Overviews into the search results generated by these tools. Rajan Patel, VP of Engineering at Google, stated that the expansion of results types offers more websites the chance to appear and receive clicks, provided they have the best information for the visual question.
An example of this upgrade is when you search for a photo of a landmark with Lens, the results now include a knowledge panel and web links about that place, similar to a direct search for the building's name.
Patel also announced that the richer results from Google Lens and Circle to Search will be expanded to more categories. In the coming weeks, there will be more updates to visual query results, including helpful filters for different types of content, akin to what is already available for text queries on Search.
The upgrades are significant because they provide alternative ways to search, beyond typing a query into a search box. Users can take photos and search with Google Lens, draw on those photos or screenshots with Circle to Search, and use other search methods. Knowing that features like knowledge panels, AI Overviews, and more links can potentially drive traffic to your site is beneficial.