• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechGoogle

Google Wants Businesses to Use Its A.I. to ‘See’ and Sort Photos

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 17, 2018, 9:00 AM ET

Google wants to help its corporate customers “see” photos better with the assistance of artificial intelligence.

The search giant unveiled a new service on Wednesday for businesses to build apps that can automatically recognize images. It is a technology akin to Google’s image search tool that can quickly retrieve photos on the web based on what a person searches for.

The new Cloud Auto ML (machine learning) service is part of a larger push by Google (GOOG) to convince companies to use its cloud computing and business-related services, like online storage or workplace software. In pushing into cloud computing, Google faces intense competition from companies like Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT).

Although Google currently offers a tool that coders can use to create apps that can quickly sort thousands of photos, knowing how to correctly use it requires expertise in cutting-edge AI techniques like deep learning. The new service is intended to simplify part of the process required to create apps that can quickly recognize images in photos by providing an easy-to-use tool that resembles more conventional software tools like Google Docs.

To use the service, businesses must upload examples of images that they want their computers to automatically recognize. A shoe retailer, for example, could upload images of shoes and label them with the terms they want the software to automatically recognize, like shoelaces. Or customers can have Google staff label the data on their behalf.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

After being “trained” on the correctly labeled data, the new Google service takes about a day to create a formula, or model, that companies can then embed into their apps to make them automatically sift and organize photos. In the future, Google hopes to reduce the time it takes to create these models.

Some of the companies testing Google’s new service include Urban Outfitters and Walt Disney.

Rajen Sheth, a Google Cloud senior director of product management for AI, said during a press briefing that Disney (DIS) used the service to improve the search results of its online shop. With the Google service, people can more quickly find products like shirts that feature specific Disney characters through Disney’s online store, even if the images haven’t been properly labeled with the characters’ names.

Google said it doesn’t have a set price yet for the technology and until it creates one, the company will determine pricing specific to each customer.

A Google spokesperson declined to comment on how the new service compares against competing services sold by Amazon and Microsoft. Sheth said that based on feedback so far, Google’s customers say “they are very pleased with the quality” of Google’s new service when compared to other similar services, but he didn’t elaborate.

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

Latest in Tech

AIData centers
At the edges of the AI data center boom, rural America is up against Silicon Valley billions
By Sharon GoldmanDecember 27, 2025
29 minutes ago
research
Cybersecuritydeepfakes
2026 will be the year you get fooled by a deepfake, researcher says. Voice cloning has crossed the ‘indistinguishable threshold’
By Siwei Lyu and The ConversationDecember 27, 2025
59 minutes ago
Employee is applauded at office
SuccessCareers
The ‘occupations most exposed to AI automation’ actually outperform the rest of the job market, new research reveals
By Emma BurleighDecember 27, 2025
2 hours ago
Travel & LeisureVirtual Reality
Seniors relive their days of wanderlust and thrill-seeking with virtual reality. ‘It’s about all the memories that it brings back’
By Michael Liedtke and The Associated PressDecember 26, 2025
19 hours ago
An NYSE trader looks at his computer monitor.
AIMarkets
‘Artificial stupidity’ made AI trading bots spontaneously form cartels when left unsupervised, Wharton study reveals
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 26, 2025
22 hours ago
MJ Burk Chun
InnovationBrainstorm AI
Confused by baby goats, having car nightmares, struggling to move from LA to Miami Beach — Robots are just like us, exec says
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 26, 2025
22 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Retail
Trump just declared December 26th a national holiday. What's open and closed?
By Dave SmithDecember 26, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
As millions of Gen Zers face unemployment, CEOs of Amazon, Walmart, and McDonald's say opportunity is still there—if you have the right mindset
By Preston ForeDecember 26, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Real Estate
Mark Zuckerberg gifted noise-canceling headphones to his Palo Alto neighbors because of the nonstop construction around his 11 homes
By Dave SmithDecember 25, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Investing
Logan Paul auctions off $5.3 million Pokémon card, urging young people to invest more in nontraditional assets: 'Don't be afraid to take a risk'
By Sydney LakeDecember 25, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Billionaire philanthropy's growing divide: Mark Zuckerberg stops funding immigration reform as MacKenzie Scott doubles down on DEI
By Ashley LutzDecember 22, 2025
5 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Trump's tariffs actually slashed the deficit from a record $136.4 billion to less than half that. Here's what else they did
By Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Paul Wiseman and The Associated PressDecember 26, 2025
19 hours ago

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.