Pinterest, the reinvented visual discovery platform, has announced a new online tool, Lens, which uses the camera in the app to discover objects in the real world, allowing for marketing and promotional purposes. The rather visual search tool uses the phone’s camera to recognize physical objects and then returns related items on Pinterest matching it.

Lens recognizes physical objects within a window, then tags it by associating the object with relevant pins from Pinterest platform.

As Lens extends Pinterest’s search to the real world, the company will be tapping into the reach to serve ads beyond its own platform, with a new shop feature for items appearing in pins as actual products people can buy.

With related products highlighted in a blue circle that people can tap to see relevant products that are available for purchase, either on Pinterest or direct on a brand’s site.

And for now, Lens works best for finding home decor ideas, things to wear and food to eat - but with more people giving it a try, results will get even better, and the range of objects Lens recognizes will get increasingly wider.

Pinterest Lens turns real world Objects into Digital Ads

Pinterest, the reinvented visual discovery platform, has announced a new online tool, Lens, which uses the camera in the app to discover objects in the real world, allowing for marketing and promotional purposes. The rather visual search tool uses the phone’s camera to recognize physical objects and then returns related items on Pinterest matching it.

Lens recognizes physical objects within a window, then tags it by associating the object with relevant pins from Pinterest platform.

As Lens extends Pinterest’s search to the real world, the company will be tapping into the reach to serve ads beyond its own platform, with a new shop feature for items appearing in pins as actual products people can buy.

With related products highlighted in a blue circle that people can tap to see relevant products that are available for purchase, either on Pinterest or direct on a brand’s site.

And for now, Lens works best for finding home decor ideas, things to wear and food to eat - but with more people giving it a try, results will get even better, and the range of objects Lens recognizes will get increasingly wider.