🖼️ Google Lens Visual Search: Reverse image search, OCR & web matches

Turn public image URLs into useful visual-search records. Read visible text, discover source pages, or save a Lens result after a browser review.

🔤 OCR by default Read text, lines, coordinates, and status.

🌐 Web discovery Find matching pages, images, labels, and entities.

🧭 Review handoff Keep a complete Lens result link after review.

📦 Small batches Process up to ten unique public images.

🎯 Who uses it?

Use reverse image search when you need to understand an image, not just download it.

• Product teams trace catalog photos and find pages that reuse an image.
• Brand researchers check where a logo, product, or campaign image appears.
• Marketplaces read labels and connect a picture with related listings.
• Photographers and editors locate source pages and other versions of an image.
• Analysts turn image evidence into a searchable, repeatable dataset.

🧭 Choose a search mode

Mode	Best for	What you receive
OCR only (default)	Fast, repeatable text extraction	Text, lines, paragraphs, coordinates, language, and text_detected or no_text_detected status
Google Cloud Web Detection	Finding pages and images connected to a picture	Matching pages, full and partial image matches, similar images, entities, and labels
Manual Lens results URL	A Lens result you completed in a browser	The source image, a validated results URL, and a clear review instruction
Direct Lens	Existing users with a suitable Residential Proxy	Visual or exact result tabs when the live Lens session can be verified

The Actor keeps missing matches honest. A blocked or unverifiable visual search is reported as a failed image attempt, not as an empty match record. An image without readable text is a valid OCR result with no_text_detected status.

🪄 How it works

STEP 1 Add an image Paste one URL or a batch of up to ten.

STEP 2 Choose the outcome Start with OCR, web discovery, or a reviewed Lens URL.

STEP 3 Use the records Open focused views for text, matches, links, and status.

🧾 Input

Field	Type	Required	Description
imageUrl	URL	At least one source	One public JPEG, PNG, or WebP image URL.
imageUrls	array of URLs	No	Up to ten unique public image URLs for a batch.
searchType	enum	No	ocr_only by default, or all, visual_matches, or exact_matches.
visualBackend	enum	No	direct_lens, google_cloud_web_detection, or manual_lens_url.
googleCloudVisionApiKey	secret	Web Detection only	Your Google Cloud key for Web Detection. You manage the account and allowance.
manualLensUrl	URL	Manual mode only	The complete HTTPS Lens results URL copied after a browser review.
includeAllTabs	boolean	No	In all mode, include both Visual matches and Exact matches tabs.
includeOcr	boolean	No	Add OCR text to visual or Web Detection records.
language	text	No	ISO 639-1 language code for localized results.
countryCode	text	No	Country used for the visual search locale.
maxResults	integer	No	Limit returned match records from 1 to 100.
proxyConfiguration	object	Direct visual mode only	Use Apify Residential Proxy for the live Direct Lens path.

📊 Dataset views

📋 Matches overview

See the image, selected mode, result source, summaries, match groups, review link, and processing time in one view.

🔎 Visual and exact matches

Focus on Web Detection details, visual matches, exact matches, and any OCR attached to the result.

🧱 Data table

Field	Type	Description
imageUrl	string	The public image URL submitted for this record.
searchType	string	The result mode, such as ocr_only, web_detection, manual_lens, or a Lens match mode.
visualBackend	string	The source used for visual results, when applicable.
ocr	object	Detected text, language, lines, paragraphs, coordinates, and status.
webDetection	object	Source-derived entities, matching pages, matching images, similar images, and labels.
visualMatches	array	Pages and products that Google Lens identifies as visually related.
exactMatches	array	Pages and images that closely match the submitted image.
relatedLinks	array	Additional source links returned with a verified visual result.
relatedSearches	array	Related search phrases returned with a verified visual result.
tabs	array	Visual matches and Exact matches result-tab links.
aiDescription	string	A source-derived description when the selected Lens result provides one.
searchUrl	URL	A verified result URL or a manual browser handoff URL.
manualInstructions	string	A short instruction for reviewing a manually supplied Lens URL.
scrapedAt	timestamp	Time when the record was created.

Example record

{
  "imageUrl": "https://dummyimage.com/640x360/000/fff.png&text=Google+Lens+Test",
  "searchType": "ocr_only",
  "ocr": {
    "status": "text_detected",
    "language": "en",
    "fullText": "Google Lens Test",
    "lines": [
      { "text": "Google Lens Test", "x": 73, "y": 163, "width": 471, "height": 61 }
    ],
    "paragraphs": []
  },
  "scrapedAt": "2026-08-09T09:51:38.833Z"
}

💰 Pricing

Pay per valid dataset record. Failed image attempts are not added to the chargeable dataset. Empty OCR is still a valid record because it clearly reports no_text_detected. There is no subscription, and an empty run is not charged.

⭐ Enjoying Google Lens Visual Search?

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ A clear image result can save your team from repetitive visual checks. A 5-star rating helps other research, catalog, and image teams find this Actor. Your feedback guides future improvements.

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❓ FAQ

Can I run it without a key?

Yes. OCR only is the default and needs no key. Web Detection uses your Google Cloud key, while Direct Lens may need an Apify Residential Proxy.

What happens when an image has no text?

The Actor returns a successful OCR record with status: "no_text_detected", an empty fullText, and empty text arrays. That is a valid result, not fabricated text.

How do I get web matches?

Choose Google Cloud Web Detection and provide your own Google Cloud key. For a browser-completed Lens search, choose Manual Lens results URL and paste the complete results link.

Can I process multiple images?

Yes. Add up to ten unique public image URLs. Each successful image receives its own correlated dataset record.

What if Direct Lens cannot be verified?

The Actor keeps the failed image attempt out of the successful result dataset. Use Web Detection or a Manual Lens results URL when you need a browser-reviewed fallback.

🔗 Other actors

• Google Lens OCR API: Batch Image to Text with Bounding Boxes ↗ - Extract searchable text and coordinates from image batches.
• Yandex Reverse Image Scraper: Яндекс Картинки ↗ - Find visually similar images, source pages, and other image sizes.
• Bulk Image Downloader: Website Crawl, ZIP and Image Dataset ↗ - Build an image dataset from public pages and direct URLs.
• Lenskart Scraper: Eyewear Prices, Specs & Variants ↗ - Compare product images, variants, prices, and availability in eyewear catalogs.