Google is working on a feature that will allow users to copy an image and perform an image search from Chrome’s address bar, aka Omnibox.

Currently, you can do a Google search for copied text, right from the address bar. All you need to do is right-click inside the address bar and choose “paste and search for..” Chrome will perform a Google search using the copied text from the clipboard.

The easiest way to do an image search from Google (searching Google using images instead of text) is right-clicking an image and choosing “Search Google for image”. This uploads the image to Google and gives you search results. This, however, is limited to images that you find on Chrome. You can always open images from your computer on a Chrome tab and search using it though.

The upcoming feature will bring images also into the address bar. You can right-click and copy an image from anywhere and perform an image search using it.

Feature Flag and Code

We spotted the code change for this feature today along with a feature flag that will be used to test this.

“[Omnibox] Adding clipboard image suggestion for Omnibox

Omnibox suggestions can have image data, then later can post image data
to do an image search.”

Looking at the files, we could find the feature flag that will be used to test this:

“Omnibox clipboard image search suggestions: Enables image search suggestions in the Omnibox”.

Support for Shared Clipboard?

If you remember, Google is working on a “Shared Clipboard” feature that allows you to send copied text among your signed-in devices. They are also working on “Raw Clipboard Access” which will include images also into this.

We do not know if the “Clipboard image suggestion” feature will work alongside “Shared Clipboard”. However, if it works, you will be able to copy images from one device and search Google using that image on another computer.

Does this sound like a feature that you will use regularly? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.