How to use Visual Intelligence on iPhone to translate, search, and ask ChatGPT

Apple first introduced Visual Intelligence with iOS 18.2, a feature that could recognize what your iPhone’s camera saw in real time. With iOS 27, Apple takes it a step further. Visual Intelligence is now closely integrated with Siri AI, giving the iPhone a much better understanding of what is in front of the camera and what is displayed on the screen.

Here’s a full guide on how to use Visual Intelligence on your iPhone.

What is Visual Intelligence?

Visual Intelligence is an Apple Intelligence-powered feature that combines on-device AI with real-time visual understanding. It debuted with the iPhone 16 series and requires at least an A17 Pro chip with an advanced Neural Engine for fast, private processing.

With it, your iPhone can recognize and extract details from what your camera or screen shows—from identifying a plant to translating a menu, finding products online, or getting instant help from ChatGPT and Siri AI.

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In iOS 27, Visual Intelligence is more closely connected to Siri. It can:

Identify objects and places
Ask questions about something in front of the camera
Search the web for visually similar images
Recognize plants and animals
Read, summarize, and translate text
Get information about businesses
Analyze food and provide nutritional information
Interact with restaurant bills
Extract information from documents and cards
Turn information from flyers into calendar events
Take actions based on what the camera sees

Apple also lets Visual Intelligence work with screenshots, so you don’t need to physically point your camera at something if the information is already on your iPhone.

Which iPhones support Visual Intelligence?

Visual Intelligence requires an Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhone.

Apple says Apple Intelligence on iOS 27 is available on:

iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16e, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max
iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max
iPhone Air
iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max
iPhone Duo

Apple Intelligence availability can vary depending on the device, language, and region.

If you are unsure whether your iPhone supports the feature:

Open Settings.
Tap Apple Intelligence & Siri or Siri.
Check whether Apple Intelligence is available on your iPhone.

How to access Visual Intelligence on iPhone

iOS 27 gives several ways to launch Visual Intelligence.

Method 1: Use Siri Mode in Camera

If you have Siri AI enabled, this is the most direct way to use Visual Intelligence.

Open the Camera app.
Swipe through the camera modes until you reach Siri.
Point your iPhone camera at whatever you want to understand.
Tap the Siri button to learn about what is in the frame.

For example, I can point the camera at an unfamiliar object and tap the Siri button to get information about it. Then swipe down on the response and continue the conversation with follow-up questions.

Method 2: Use Camera Control

If your iPhone has the Camera Control button, press and hold it to let Visual Intelligence analyze the scene, then choose one of the suggested actions or ask a question.

First, you need to set it up:

Open Settings on your iPhone.
Select Camera and tap Camera Control.
Scroll down and toggle on Press and Hold under the Launch Visual Intelligence section.

This remains one of the quickest ways to access Visual Intelligence on supported iPhones.

Method 3: Use the Action Button

If your iPhone doesn’t have Camera Control, you can assign Visual Intelligence to the Action button on supported models.

Open Settings.
Tap Action Button.
Swipe through the available options.
Select Visual Intelligence.
Press and hold the Action button whenever you want to use it.

Method 4: Add Visual Intelligence to the Lock Screen

You can also customize your Lock Screen to add Visual Intelligence as a control.

Unlock your iPhone with Face ID and touch and hold your Lock Screen.
Tap Customize.
Tap the minus button on the control you want to replace.
Then tap the plus sign and select Visual Intelligence from the available controls.
Tap Done.

This is particularly useful when I want to analyze something quickly without navigating through multiple menus.

Method 5: Add Visual Intelligence to Control Center

You can also launch it from Control Center.

Swipe down from the top-right corner of your iPhone.
Look for the Visual Intelligence control.
Tap it to launch the feature.

If you don’t see it, tap the + button to customize Control Center and add the Visual Intelligence control.

How to use Visual Intelligence on iPhone

The real appeal of Visual Intelligence isn’t simply recognizing objects. What makes iOS 27 interesting is that the feature can turn what the camera sees into an action.

Here are some of the most useful things you can do.

1. Ask Siri about anything in front of your camera

This is one of the biggest changes in iOS 27.

Instead of simply identifying an object, I can ask a question about it. For example, I can point my camera at a cricket ball and ask: “How do you play cricket?”

Siri AI can identify the object and continue the conversation with a follow-up answer.

To try it:

Open Camera.
Switch to Siri mode.
Point the camera at an object.
Tap the Ask button on the left.
Type or dictate your question.
Wait for Siri’s response.

You can continue asking questions without starting over. Also, all these conversations are available in the Siri app for future reference.

This makes Visual Intelligence feel much more like an interactive assistant rather than a simple visual search tool.

2. Identify plants and animals

Visual Intelligence can recognize plants and animals through the camera.

To use it:

Open Camera.
Enter Siri mode or launch Visual Intelligence using your preferred shortcut.
Point your camera at the plant or animal.
Tap the suggested identification or tap the Siri button to know what you’re looking at.
Follow the results for additional information.

If the system isn’t confident about an identification, treat the result as a suggestion rather than a guaranteed answer.

3. Identify places and businesses

Visual Intelligence can also help when you’re walking around a new area.

Point the camera at a business or location, and Visual Intelligence can provide relevant information about it, depending on what’s available in your region.

For supported businesses, you may see details such as:

Business information
Opening hours
Website
Contact information
Menu or ordering options
Other relevant actions

4. Get nutritional information from food

This is one of the more interesting iOS 27 additions.

Point your iPhone camera at food or a meal, and Visual Intelligence can provide information about it, including nutritional information and ingredients when the system can determine them.

To try it:

Open Camera.
Switch to Siri mode.
Point the camera at your meal or food.
Look for a suggested action or tap Ask.
Ask something such as, “What is this food?” or “What can you tell me about this meal?”

The results are meant to provide useful information, not replace professional dietary or medical advice.

5. Split a restaurant bill

Visual Intelligence can now do more than read a restaurant receipt. With the updated Wallet app in iOS 27, Siri can offer a Split Bill option when you point your camera at a receipt.

To use it:

Open Camera.
Switch to Siri mode.
Point your camera at the restaurant check.
Wait for the suggested action.
Tap Split Bill with Apple Cash if it appears.
Follow the on-screen instructions to divide the bill.

The exact payment options depend on region and service availability.

6. Search for similar products and images

Visual Intelligence can perform a visual search when you want to find similar items online, similar to Google Lens.

For example, if I see a pair of shoes, bag, piece of furniture, or gadget I like, I can point my camera at it and search for visually similar results. You can also directly buy the product from the search results.

Open Visual Intelligence.
Point your camera at the object.
Tap the Search button on the right.
Review the visually similar results.
You can also draw a circle to highlight the product you want to search.

This is particularly useful when I don’t know the name of the product I’m looking at.

7. Translate text with Visual Intelligence

Visual Intelligence can understand text through the camera and provide actions such as translation.

To translate text:

Launch Visual Intelligence.
Point your camera at the text.
Let your iPhone analyze it or tap the Siri button.
Choose the Translate option when it appears and tap Continue.
Then tap on any text to listen to the translation or copy it. You can also change the translation language from here.

I often use this feature for signs, menus, labels, notices, and other printed text when traveling. No need to open the Translate app separately!

Visual Intelligence can also provide options for summarizing or reading text aloud when appropriate.

8. Summarize text you see

You don’t always need to read a long notice or document yourself.

Point your camera at the text, and Visual Intelligence can offer a Summarize and Read Aloud action.

This can be useful for:

Notices
Documents
Posters
Instructions
Long printed messages
Information sheets

The available actions depend on what Visual Intelligence detects.

9. Turn a flyer into a calendar event

Visual Intelligence can recognize event information from posters and flyers and help you add it to Calendar. This is much faster than manually typing the event name, date, time, and location.

To use it:

Point your iPhone camera at the flyer or poster.
Launch Visual Intelligence.
Wait for the event information to be recognized.
Tap the Add to Calendar option to create the event.
Review the pre-filled details, such as the event title, dates, and location. You may also add invitees, reminder alerts, and other relevant details.
Once satisfied, tap the checkmark to add it to your calendar.

Similarly, the feature also helps me add contacts from visiting cards.

Also read: I tried the Calendar app in iOS 27. These new features actually save time

Visual Intelligence also works with your iPhone screen

This is where Visual Intelligence becomes particularly useful.

You don’t have to point your camera at everything. If something is already displayed on your iPhone, you can use screenshot-based Visual Intelligence to understand it.

For example, I can use it on a product page, social media post, website, document, photo, message, screenshot of an app, and much more. Apple provides a dedicated Visual Intelligence experience for content on the iPhone screen.

Use Visual Intelligence on a Screenshot

Open the content you want to analyze.
Quickly press and release the Side button + Volume Up buttons together.
Your iPhone takes a screenshot and opens the preview with Visual Intelligence tools.
Depending on what’s on the screen, choose Ask, Search, or another suggested action. Siri AI can use on-screen awareness to answer questions and take actions based on screen content.
Highlight a specific object if you only want to analyze part of the screenshot.

The tools shown at the bottom can change depending on the content in your screenshot.

The best feature is the ability to highlight an object on the screen. Suppose I’m looking at a screenshot containing several products, but I only want information about one of them. In such a case, simply take a screenshot and highlight the specific object.

Visual Intelligence can then search for that specific item rather than treating the entire screenshot as a single image. This is especially useful when comparing products or researching something I see on social media.

How Visual Intelligence works with ChatGPT

If you’ve used Visual Intelligence in earlier iOS versions, you may remember seeing an Ask option that handed questions to ChatGPT.

That integration hasn’t disappeared from Apple’s broader Apple Intelligence experience, but the iOS 27 Visual Intelligence workflow is more tightly connected to Siri AI.

If you still want to use ChatGPT for some queries, here’s how:

Open Siri mode in Camera or take a screenshot of the content.
Tap the Ask button and then enter this query: “Ask ChatGPT to tell me what this is”
For the first time, it will prompt you to enable ChatGPT. Tap Turn On on the prompt.
Then follow the one-screen instructions to enable the extension.
Now, again enter your query added with “Ask ChatGPT,” and ChatGPT will continue the conversation.

The Siri app saves such conversations as well.

Change Visual Intelligence settings in iOS 27

Apple has added settings that let you control how Visual Intelligence behaves.

To find them:

Open Settings.
Tap Siri.
Depending on your device and configuration, you can find settings such as:
- Highlight to Search: Enable it to let Siri AI automatically search the web when you highlight something while using Siri mode in Camera or screenshots.
- Automatic Visual Look Up: This allows your iPhone to automatically identify objects and places that appear in screenshots.

These options are useful if you want Visual Intelligence to be more proactive.

Visual Intelligence vs Visual Look Up: What’s the difference?

These two features can sound confusing because both can identify things.

Visual Look Up is Apple’s traditional image-recognition feature. It can recognize certain objects, animals, plants, landmarks, laundry symbols, car dashboard signs, and other visual content.

Visual Intelligence is broader. It combines Apple’s visual understanding with Apple Intelligence to let you search, ask questions, summarize information, translate text, and take actions based on what your camera or screen shows.

In iOS 27, Visual Intelligence also works closely with Siri AI, making it more conversational.

Things to keep in mind

Visual Intelligence is powerful, but I wouldn’t treat every result as authoritative. AI-generated information can sometimes be incomplete or incorrect, especially when the camera can’t clearly see the subject.

I also need to remember that feature availability varies by:

iPhone model
Region
Language
Apple Intelligence availability
Siri AI availability
Third-party service availability

Apple specifically notes that Apple Intelligence features aren’t available in every language or region, and Siri AI is currently offered as a beta feature on iOS 27.

For anything involving health, nutrition, finances, or other important decisions, I would verify the result using a reliable source rather than relying on Visual Intelligence alone.

Final thoughts

Visual Intelligence has come a long way since Apple introduced it.

In earlier versions of iOS, I mostly thought of it as a smart camera feature that could recognize objects, translate text, identify plants, or search for products. iOS 26 expanded the idea by letting Visual Intelligence understand what was on my screen.

With iOS 27, Apple takes the next step by bringing Visual Intelligence deeper into Siri and the Camera app. I can now ask Siri what I’m looking at, follow up with another question, search for similar images, or take an action based on what my iPhone sees.

If Apple continues improving Siri AI and Visual Intelligence in future updates, I think this could become one of the most useful parts of Apple Intelligence. What do you think about this feature? Let me know in the comments below!

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