Google’s Search Is Smarter Than Ever With MultiSearch

Photo Credit: Google
Google’s Search function on iOS and Android is getting smarter each year. Through the use of machine learning and clever algorithms, the system is able to accurately locate information that’s relevant to you. For example, you can find the name or lyrics to a particular song by humming, whistling or singing a portion of the song, and have Search figure out what it is.

Machine learning goes to work by converting your audio into a number-based sequence that represents the song’s melody. This is then compared with thousands of songs from around the world for a potential match. The sequence is a song’s fingerprint, that helps the software match it properly.

Getting started is easy, tap on the mic icon of the Google Search widget on your phone and say “what’s this song?” or click the “Search a song” button. Then, start humming, whistling or singing parts to the song that you are familiar with, for about 10-15 seconds. However, if Google Assistant has been enabled, you don’t have to click the mic button. Just say, “Hey Google, what’s this song?” instead.

This feature is available in English on iOS but is available in more than 20 languages on Android. As impressive as this might be, the integration of Google Lens into the Search widget allows you to search for what you’re looking for, by using a relevant image.

If you’d like to look for a particular outfit online, snap a photo or use an existing one and have Google trawl the internet to find results relevant to you. It doesn’t only work on clothes but a variety of things including animals. I was at a pet store recently, staring at a cage of what resembled miniature mice, but a quick search with Lens revealed that they were Winter White Dwarf Hamsters.

Now, Google has taken this search functionality to a new level by introducing multisearch. This allows searching by using both pictures and words to increase accuracy.

• You can snap a picture of your dining set and add the search query “coffee table” to Google search for a matching table online.
• Besides this you could take a picture of an orange dress and type “green” in the search box to have Google look for the same dress but in the color you want.
• Take a picture of a rosemary plant and search for “care instructions” and Google’s machine learning algorithms will find exactly what you want.

This is made possible because of the advancements the company has made with artificial intelligence. The Search giant is also exploring ways in which this can be enhanced further with MUM, which is an AI model in Search.

Google says that for now, the most accurate results it can get are related to shopping searches, so temper your expectations when you do decide to give the feature a whirl.