Some questions are easier to show than to type. What is this plant, what does this error message mean, how do I read this form. All four of these tools can look at a picture and answer, and each is good at a slightly different kind of “look at this.” Here is one image feature per tool, with the official steps and an honest note on when it helps.

Claude: read the text and detail inside a picture

Claude: read the words and detail inside a photo

Claude can look at a photo you upload and reason about what is in it, and it is especially good at the words inside an image.

  1. Open a new chat at claude.ai or in the Claude app.
  2. Click the plus to add a photo, or just drag one into the message box. On your phone you can take a picture instead.
  3. Ask your question in plain words, for example “what does this letter say I owe, and by when.”
  4. Keep going in the same chat. You can add more images if you need to (up to 20). Claude reads JPEG, PNG, GIF, and WebP.

When to reach for it: when the answer is buried in the image itself, like messy handwriting, a confusing bill or form, a screenshot of an error, or a chart you want explained in plain language.

Source: Claude Help Center

ChatGPT: identify something and get the next step

ChatGPT: point at what matters and identify it

ChatGPT can look at a photo and help you name what you are seeing and decide what to do about it.

  1. Open ChatGPT on your phone or at chatgpt.com.
  2. Tap the plus icon and choose Add photos & files, or drag or paste an image in. On the desktop app you can also choose Take Photo.
  3. Before you send, you can mark up the photo to circle the exact part you mean.
  4. Ask your question, for example “what is this plant and is it safe for a cat.”

When to reach for it: when you want to identify something and know what to do next, like a plant, a product label, a rash, or a math problem you want worked out step by step. Point at the part that matters and it focuses there.

Source: OpenAI Help Center

Copilot: point your camera and talk it through

Copilot: point your live camera and ask out loud

Copilot Vision uses your phone’s live camera instead of a still photo, so you can aim it at something and ask out loud, hands free.

  1. Open the Copilot app on your phone, on iOS or Android, and sign in with a free Microsoft account.
  2. Tap the glasses icon to start a Copilot Vision session.
  3. Point your camera at what is in front of you and ask your question out loud. Copilot answers with its voice.
  4. End the session when you are done. Nothing you show it during the session is saved.

When to reach for it: when your hands are busy and the thing is right there, like a knob on a broken appliance, a recipe on the counter, or a plaque on a walk. This is the free consumer Copilot, not the paid Microsoft 365 one.

Source: Microsoft Support

Gemini: snap it in the moment and ask

Gemini: snap a photo in the moment and ask

Gemini lets you take a photo right inside the app and ask about it, which is handy when you are out and about.

  1. Open the Gemini app on your phone.
  2. Tap Add files. Choose Photos to pick one from your library, or Camera to take a new one.
  3. Ask your question about the picture, for example “translate this menu and tell me which dishes have no meat.”
  4. You can add up to 10 images in a single prompt if you are comparing a few things.

When to reach for it: for quick, on-the-go lookups where you take the picture on the spot, like a menu in another language, a label in a store, or what you could cook from what is in the fridge.

Source: Gemini Apps Help

One thing to keep in mind

A camera makes these tools feel confident, but they can still misread a photo, especially small print, handwriting, and numbers. Check anything that matters, like a dose, a due date, or a dollar amount, against the real document. And think before you share a picture that has personal details in it, like an ID or a full account number.

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