Lens Live doesn’t replace Amazon’s existing visual search tool, Amazon Lens, which allows users to upload photos, scan barcodes, or snap pictures to find products. Instead, it enhances it with real-time capabilities. While Amazon Lens is ideal for static searches—like identifying a dress from a screenshot—Lens Live thrives in dynamic environments. You can tap an item in your camera view to focus the search, and the app retrieves exact or highly similar products from Amazon’s billions of listings. A swipeable carousel at the bottom of the screen lets you explore options, add items to your cart with a plus icon, or save them to your wishlist with a heart icon.
This evolution builds on Amazon’s investment in visual search, which has seen a 70% year-over-year increase in usage worldwide. The company’s vice president of Stores Foundational AI, Trishul Chilimbi, explains that Lens Live uses a deep-learning visual embedding model to match what you see against Amazon’s catalog. Running on-device, this lightweight model ensures speed and accuracy, making the experience feel almost magical.
Rufus: Your AI Shopping Assistant
Integrated into Lens Live is Amazon’s AI-powered shopping assistant, Rufus, which adds a layer of intelligence to the experience. As you scan items, Rufus provides product summaries, highlights key features, and answers questions about what you’re seeing. For example, if you’re looking at a coffee maker, Rufus might suggest questions like “What are its brewing settings?” or “Is it compatible with reusable filters?” These insights, generated by Amazon’s large language model, help you make informed decisions without sifting through lengthy reviews.
Rufus also makes comparison shopping easier. If you’re in a store checking out a jacket, Lens Live can show you Amazon’s offerings, complete with price comparisons and product details. This integration not only streamlines the shopping process but also positions Amazon as a competitor to tools like Google Lens, which offers similar visual search but lacks the direct “buy” button that defines Lens Live’s commercial focus.
The Tech Behind the Scenes
Lens Live’s real-time capabilities rely on advanced infrastructure. The feature runs on AWS-managed Amazon OpenSearch and SageMaker services, which deploy machine learning models at scale. The on-device object-detection model identifies primary objects in your camera’s view with minimal user input, creating a smooth experience. Meanwhile, the deep-learning model matches visuals against Amazon’s product database, ensuring precise results even in complex scenes.
This technology reflects Amazon’s broader push into AI-driven shopping. The company has introduced AI Shopping Guides for over 100 product categories, from headphones to dog food, consolidating key information to reduce research time. Lens Live takes this a step further, blending visual search with real-time decision-making tools, all within the familiar Amazon Shopping app.
A New Way to Shop—or Overkill?
Lens Live’s real-time shopping could change how we interact with physical stores. By offering instant price comparisons and product matches, it empowers consumers to make smarter choices, potentially saving money by finding better deals online. For example, spotting a vase in a boutique and discovering a similar one on Amazon for half the price is now just a camera sweep away. The feature also caters to impulse buyers, making it easy to act on inspiration from social media or everyday life.
However, Lens Live’s aggressive integration of shopping into every visual moment raises questions. The Verge notes its similarity to Google’s Gemini Live, which also scans environments but focuses on answering questions rather than pushing purchases. Amazon’s “big ‘buy’ button” approach might feel intrusive to some, turning casual browsing into a constant sales pitch. Additionally, the feature’s initial iOS-only rollout limits its reach, though Amazon plans to expand to more U.S. customers soon.
The Future of Visual Commerce
Lens Live signals a future where shopping is woven into our daily interactions with the world. By leveraging AI to bridge the gap between physical and digital marketplaces, Amazon is betting that consumers want instant access to products wherever they are. The feature’s success will depend on its ability to balance convenience with user comfort—offering relevant matches without overwhelming with ads or irrelevant suggestions.
As visual search tools like Lens Live, Google Lens, and Pinterest Lens compete, the race is on to make shopping as natural as looking around. For now, Amazon’s real-time approach gives it an edge, especially for deal-hunters and impulse shoppers. Whether you’re in a store, at home, or scrolling through Instagram, Lens Live turns your phone’s camera into a gateway to Amazon’s marketplace, redefining how we shop in the moment.
