YouTube is launching a Lens feature in short films. The feature, which will be launched in beta in the coming weeks, will allow you to search for more information about animals, plants, and objects you notice in a video.
For example, if you’re watching a short film with a landmark in the background, YouTube says you can use Lens to search for the specific landmark and learn more about the location where the video was shot.
You can take advantage of this feature by navigating to Shorts in the YouTube mobile app. Once you pause a short, tap the Lens button in the top menu, and then circle, highlight, or tap the item you want to search for. YouTube will then show visual matches and search results overlaid on the shortlist. The platform notes that when you select one of these results, you can “quickly return to the content you were watching.”
In recent months, Google has begun to expand Lens, and it now allows you to search using videos and can even help you figure out what to buy in a store.
YouTube says that while Lens doesn’t use “biometric facial recognition” to identify specific people, it can show results for “well-known public figures.” It also won’t show ads in results during the pilot, and won’t be available on Shorts with affiliate shopping links to begin with.
