Identify Plants and Flowers Instantly with Your Phone: Bing vs. Google Lens Guide

Apps like Microsoft Bing and Google Lens have revolutionized plant and flower identification. Point your phone's camera at any specimen in nature, snap a photo, and get accurate results in seconds. In our extensive testing, these tools excel not just at recognizing flora but also products, books, and landmarks (via Google Lens).

Google Lens is a standalone app for Android and integrated into Google Photos on iOS. Microsoft's Bing app is available for both platforms.

How to Identify Plants with Bing

Launch the Bing app, and you'll see a prominent search bar with camera and microphone icons nearby:

1. Tap the camera icon to activate camera search.
2. Aim your camera at the flower or plant and take a photo.
3. Bing scans the image, delivering three top matches with photos, plus similar images for reference.

How to Identify Plants with Google Lens

Google Lens turns your entire screen into a smart camera viewfinder for seamless use:

1. Tap the screen to capture the plant or flower.
2. View the primary match with a photo and related suggestions.
3. Tap any result to dive into a detailed Google Search page.

Which is Better: Microsoft Bing or Google Lens?

Based on our hands-on tests with various plants and flowers, Google Lens edges out Bing in accuracy and speed. Both apps succeeded with common species like hydrangea and lantana, and even basil—though Bing relied on similar images rather than direct top picks.

They occasionally faltered on trickier specimens, but Google Lens processed queries faster, improving its AI with each use. Bing shines by offering more visual results, helping you identify plants even if the top suggestions miss the mark.

Google Lens offers even more versatility for everyday discoveries—explore its full potential in Google Photos for Android users.