> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.chatros.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Image Product Search

> Let customers send a photo and have your agent find the matching product from your catalog.

With **image product search**, a customer can send a photo — *"Do you have this?"* — and your agent finds the closest matching products from your catalog. It works automatically once your products have images; there's no setting to switch on.

<Note>📸 Screenshot: a conversation where a customer sends a photo and the agent replies with matching products *(to be added)*.</Note>

## How it works

When you add or sync a product that has an image, ChatRos does two things behind the scenes:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Captions the image">
    It generates a description of what's in the product photo (color, style, type of item).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Builds a searchable index">
    That caption is combined with the product's title, tags, description, and variants into a single searchable record.
  </Step>
</Steps>

When a customer sends a photo in chat, the agent describes that photo the same way and matches it against this index to surface the most similar products.

<Note>
  This happens automatically during training. Captions are only regenerated when a product's image actually changes, so re‑syncing your catalog stays fast.
</Note>

## Turn it on — just add images

There's no toggle. To enable image search, make sure your products have images:

* **Manual products** — upload images in the **Files** section when [adding a product](/user-guides/catalog/products-and-variants).
* **Synced products** — Shopify, WooCommerce, and Medusa products bring their images automatically. CSV/Google Sheets rows can include an **imageUrl** column.

After adding images, make sure the products finish **training** (check the Training column on the Catalog page).

## Get the best results

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Use clear, representative photos" icon="camera">
    A clean product shot on a plain background matches better than a busy lifestyle photo. The image the customer sends should resemble the product image in your catalog.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Add descriptive tags" icon="tags">
    Tags like `red, sneakers, running` sharpen matches, especially when several products look alike.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Keep variants accurate" icon="layer-group">
    Since variant options and SKUs are part of the index, a customer's photo can be matched to a specific color or style.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Works on every channel

Because image search is part of the agent, it works wherever the agent is deployed — the [chat widget](/user-guides/deploy/chat-widget), [WhatsApp](/user-guides/deploy/whatsapp), [Messenger](/user-guides/deploy/messenger), and [Instagram](/user-guides/deploy/instagram) all accept customer photos.

<Card title="Build your catalog" icon="tags" href="/user-guides/catalog/introduction">
  Image search is only as good as your catalog — add products and images to power it.
</Card>