Shutterstock, one of the biggest and most popular stock photo sites online, has launched a new set of AI-powered, intelligent image search tools. Their new Chrome Plugin, Reveal, will help you find licensable images matches for any photo you see online. Plus the new Shutterstock Showcase site is testing two new features to refine and specify searches.
The goal is to give you resources to speed up your creative process and license photos that are exactly what you envisioned. Read ahead as we explain how the are doing it!
For more info about the agency check our full Shutterstock review. And to license images found using these tools, make sure to grab our special Shutterstock Coupon Code with up to 15% Off.
Shutterstock and AI Tech
Shutterstock is a very tech-driven stock photo agency, and has been focusing their development efforts in intelligent image search for a while now. A couple years ago they added intelligent search to their native search engine, among other improvements.
The new tools release takes this one step further in simplifying your designing workflow and improving your search experience. They aim at making it easier for you to find not only the right image within their titanic stock photo library, but also to find a legally safe equivalent to any photo that catches your eye while surfing the web.
Shutterstock Plugin “Reveal”: A Way to Find Licensable Images for Web-Found Photos
Shutterstock’s new Reveal plugin for Chrome applies machine learning and computer vision to search and match any image found in the web, with Shutterstock’s Royalty Free images available. See how it works in this video below:
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So simply put:
- You download and add the extension plugin to your Chrome browser
- You surf the web and use the viewfinder icon in any image you see, to reveal similar stock photos from Shutterstock’s library
- You further save, download a preview or license a Shutterstock photo of your choice
This helps to cut the temptation to “right-click download” copyrighted photos, which not only infringes author’s copyright but also gets you in a lot of trouble if you use photos obtained like this in your work.
And also adds a simple way to find images that you like: any photo or illustration that catches your attention while web-surfing can be easily matched with a stock photo ready to be downloaded, you won’t need to describe it, not even copy the image’s URL to run a reverse image search anymore.
You can get Shutterstock Reveal Plugin for Chrome here.
Shutterstock Showcase: Two New Features for Intelligent Image Search
Along with the new Shutterstock Plugin, it’s also released a new experimental site, Shutterstock Showcase, which is the redefinition of the previous Shutterstock Lab. In it, the agency offers two new tools –plus an earlier developed one– that use artificial intelligence tech to improve search experience.
- NEW Refine: It lets you run an image search, then select your favorite results from the first page, and use those picks to narrow your selection. This hopes to save you the hassle of going through lots of photos that, while keyword accurate, are not what you’re after
- NEW Copy Space: It makes possible to search images based on the amount of white space you need, and even where you need it. By using a layout grid, you can select the areas where you want space for text, and see only images that fill in your request. Very useful for designers to find the right photo to add text to
- Composition Aware Search: it that narrows search results based on where you want elements to appear. Using a layout sheet you can select where you want image elements to be, and results will throw images that follow your instruction. Interesting for those with specific composition needs
Shutterstock’s stock photo library has over 190 million photos, vectors and illustrations. While their search engine is very advanced and accurate, it can be really challenging to find the right image when virtually every search returns hundreds of thousands to millions of results. These features try to improve your search experience, using custom built computer vision technology to give you the exact photos you visualise.
All these tools are all web-based and available on the site for you to test.
Visit Shutterstock Showcase to explore the new intelligent search experience.
Try a Way to Find Stock Photos Easier with Shutterstock’s AI Search Tools
Sometimes the best stock photo for your project can be a needle waiting to be found in the haystack, and you may not always have the time for such quest. Shutterstock’s new intelligent image search plugin and features are trying to do it for you. So that you can always have the perfect photo for every design.
Try them out, see how they work. Let us know your thoughts!
Shutterstock Reveal Plugin for Chrome
Remember to buy photos you can sign up at Shutterstock for free here. And don’t forget to use our awesome Shutterstock Coupon Code!
