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Observing user behavior on mobile devices often leads to unexpected ideas or the discovery of new markets. Recently, it has been reported that usage of image search services, such as Google Lens, is increasing among younger consumers. According to market research company eMarketer, Amazon’s visual search service has grown by 70% annually worldwide, and Google Lens now sees 20 billion searches per month, with 4 billion of those being purchase-related.
Given this trend, image search may not yet be a mainstream consumer behavior, but it’s clearly a rapidly growing user habit. If beauty and fashion brands can seize this new opportunity, they can begin to consider how image search could be incorporated into the shopping journey to drive revenue. There is also Google Image Search API available for developers who want to create services leveraging this new technology.
This blog explores what the google image search trend and API are, and how services like Perfect Corp’s AI Makeup Transfer can be integrated into the beauty shopping journey—helping developers utilizing easy-to-integrate API to bring creativity to shopping journey, allowing consumers use image search to find products, try them virtually, and proceed to purchase.
What is Google Image Search and its API?
Google Lens is an AI-powered image search tool that uses your smartphone camera or photos to recognize objects and provide relevant information. With just a smartphone, users can easily search for anything they see without typing text. By clicking the Google Lens icon in the Google app, users can take or upload a photo, and the tool will identify the subject and provide related information.
While it used to be common to type questions or keywords to find information, younger generations increasingly prefer visual-based media. As a result, visual search—gaining information through images—is rapidly spreading, especially among younger users.
Google Image Search API allows developers to programmatically access Google's image search functionality and integrate it into their applications. Brands, retailers, or developers can utilize Google Image Search API to provide the service tailored to their users.
Why Google Image Search Is Gaining Popularity
According to eMarketer, consumer search behavior is evolving from traditional search methods to visually-driven platforms. This shift reflects our increasing consumption of image and video content on platforms like social media, making users more comfortable acquiring information visually. In particular, younger consumers tend to use image search more frequently.
Image search and text search are complementary. When users want to search based on spoken or written information, they use text or voice search. However, when the information is visual—extracted from an image, image search is often a more efficient method. Google’s search bar reflects this by offering voice and image search alongside traditional text input.
Google Image Search in the Purchase Journey
Google Lens greatly streamlines the way users gather product information and make purchases. For example, if a user finds a fashion image they like on social media, they may have previously needed to ask the poster for product details. Now, with Google Lens, users can scan the image to identify fashion items, electronics, furniture, and more, then find similar products to shop online. This is far more efficient than scrolling through countless listings and manually opening product pages for more info.
Image Search Shopping Solution for Beauty Brands: AI Makeup Transfer
So what can developers do in response to this shift in user behavior? Brands and retailers long wondered how to optimally position desirable products within their online channels. Users may begin by browsing categories or typing keywords. But if visual search changes future consumer habits, brands and retailers should consider offering image upload and exploration features right from the product search stage.
Perfect Corp’s AI Makeup Transfer offers a solution. This technology extracts matching colors and textures from a makeup look image, converts them into digital data, and provides AR makeup try-on and product recommendations. When a consumer uploads a makeup look they like, AI Makeup Transfer recommends the best products to recreate that look.
Traditionally, the process of buying beauty products online has involved several steps: discovering a preferred look, researching information, exploring products, and finally purchasing. While this journey can be enjoyable, each step often occurs on different platforms, leading to potential drop-offs before conversion.
If AI Makeup Transfer can centralize this journey—from look discovery to virtual try-on to product recommendation and purchase—it can ultimately boost sales for brands and retailers while reducing drop-off rates.
Expected Benefits of Adopting AI Makeup Image Search API
The introduction of AI Makeup Transfer offers a number of benefits to both beauty brands and consumers.
1. Personalized Shopping Experience
By analyzing makeup color and texture from uploaded images, the AI suggests optimal products, helping consumers quickly find items that match their personal style. This improves the personalized shopping experience by beginning the journey from personal preferences and boosts conversion rates.
2. Shortened Purchase Journey
Traditional online shopping often involves lengthy product searches and comparisons including exploring social media, checking product reviews, and discussing with other users. With AI Makeup Transfer, consumers can recreate their desired makeup look in just one image upload and instantly find and buy the related products—offering a much smoother experience.
3. Improved Customer Loyalty and Brand Trust
Accurate AI-driven analysis of colors and textures allows users to virtually try on products before buying. This increases the likelihood that the product will match their expectations, strengthening trust and loyalty toward the brand.
Perfect Corp’s AI Makeup Transfer is more than just a technology—it’s a new way of connecting image search API with virtual try-ons to create an enhanced shopping experience. If beauty brands adopt this solution effectively, they’ll be well-positioned to respond to fast-changing consumer behavior and stay competitive in the market.
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