How to Use Google Lens to Identify Things Around You

Google Lens is a free tool that uses your phone's camera as a search engine. Instead of typing a description into Google, you point your camera at something — a plant you can't identify, a product you want to find online, a menu in a foreign language, a QR code, a document with text you want to copy — and Google figures out what it is and gives you information, links, or translations instantly.

Google Lens is built into Android phones and comes with the Google app. On iPhone, it's available inside the Google app and Google Photos. You can access it from the Google Search bar, from Google Photos, from Google Assistant, and on some Android phones through the camera app directly.

Common uses that people find immediately valuable: identifying a plant or flower in your garden, finding where a product is sold online (just point the camera at the product), translating a sign or menu from a foreign language, copying text from a physical piece of paper (like a receipt or business card) into your phone, solving a math problem by pointing the camera at the equation, and looking up information on a book by pointing at the cover.

For seniors, the plant identification and translation features are frequently the most used — especially travelers who encounter foreign-language menus or signs and people who want to identify garden plants without knowing the name.