How to use Pinterest to search for products from images online

Have you ever seen a celebrity wearing a T-shirt you were dying to get your hands on, but had no idea where to find it? Or perhaps you were window shopping on sites like Nordstrom or Marc Jacobs and wished you could find cheaper alternatives?

You’re in luck!

Pinterest updated its Chrome extension yesterday, and it has included a feature that will let you search for a product without having to leave the original website.

The extension is by no means perfect — it doesn’t let you filter your results at all yet — but it’s in its early stages and is sure to only get better.

So here’s a simple three step guide to start using it right now.

Step one: install the Pinterest Save Button extension

The Pinterest Save Button can be added to Chrome or updated from here. Once it’s installed, you should see the button appear just to the right of your address bar.

Step two: Search using the image you want

Once the extension is installed, hovering over an image should produce the “save” and “search” icons over its left hand corner. (Heads up: The extension took a few minutes to start working smoothly for me, so give it time).

There are some sites that aren’t compatible at all, though. Most notably lacking is Instagram — meaning this extension isn’t going to work if you’re looking to copy your favourite fashion Instagrammers.

I also found some images in which the icons appeared above the image rather than over, so every time I tried to access them, my mouse left the image and the icons disappeared.

But if this isn’t happening, search the image by clicking on the grey magnifying glass icon. It will then open its search page.

Step three: Highlight the product

Use the main image on the left to drag out a rectangle around the specific part of the image you’re looking at — and voila, Pinterest has made your shopping experience that much easier!

The cropping tool is especially helpful if you see an image of, say, a celebrity wearing cool sunglasses — no need to search the entire image anymore, just crop the glasses.

All links unfortunately lead to Pinterest, but, hey, it seems to be a necessary middle man.

Happy searching!