SearchResearch (7/1/26): What you need to know about image search (1/3)

 As we've pointed out... 

P/C Gemini [cartoon of young woman looking at mushroom images]

... the only constant in our online world is change. That's VERY true for what kinds of things you can search for, and how you can do the search.  

Today is part 1 of 3 (and I might add more next week!) about how to think about and use image search.  

1. Caution: Search by image is pretty good, but if it's a critical or high-stakes search, double and triple check the identification.  Here's an example. Maybe you've seen this cartoon floating around the internet... 

It makes a really good point. A mushroom is edible, but you didn't ask if was poisonous, did you?  (Yes, I know that in ordinary speech, "edible" implies non-poisonous, but remember that you're talking with an AI that may/may-not share your assumptions.)  

Big important point: DO NOT rely on image search to identify non-poisonous mushrooms. (Or berries, or leaves, or ...)  

Here's an easy example of a misidentification you don't want to experience... 

This is poison oak: 

Poison oak (Toxicodendron pubescens). P/C Dan. Do not touch. 

But on one search-by-image, this was identified as either poison oak OR as a kind of (non-toxic) Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata 'Lowii').  

Here's what Boston Ivy looks like in its red-phase, so you can understand the misidentification.  

You can sit in one of these vines with impunity.  The other will leave you with a wretched rash.  Don't be that person. 

2. (Advanced) You can still use the date operators (before: and after:) with image search.  For instance, if you're looking for the original version of the above cartoon, you'll quickly get overwhelmed.  Asking Gemini to find the original version just doesn't seem to work.  

But you, as a skilled SearchResearcher, can add date restrictions to the search. 

Once you restrict the date by adding it into the search box at the top:   

Once you do this, you'll see something very different.  The AI-drawn cartoon version seems to have been inspired by a pastiche image (published in October, 2025) featuring a real red mushroom and the OpenAI logo. 

If you change the before: date to 2025-12-1 you see the first instances of the "classic" form of the meme: 

I'll let you iterate on all of the dates for the images first published in November, 2025.  The point is that you can still use those date restrictions to help narrow down the date of first publication.  

More tomorrow... 

Keep searching.