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Identify Items from a Photo

Add a photo of a new item and let AI fill in its name and fields for you to check.

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What it does

When you add a new item, you can upload a photo of it and tap "Identify with AI". Owlect works out what the item is and fills in the name and your collection's own fields: a set number and piece count for LEGO, an author and publisher for a book, a country and year for a coin.

It works on every collection type, including custom collections. It is meant for things that have no barcode, or whose barcode finds nothing. If the item has a barcode, scanning it is quicker and exact. AI photo or barcode scanner compares the two, and cataloging from photos walks through a whole shelf.

What it looks like in the app

Animation of the new item form: a photo of a LEGO set box drops into the photo box, the Identify with AI button is tapped, and the name, set number, theme, piece count and year fill in by themselves.

How to use it

  • 1Open your collection and tap the "+" button
  • 2Tap the photo area and add a photo of the item: the box, the cover, the label, the card, or the object itself
  • 3Wait for the photo to upload. The "Identify with AI" button appears under it
  • 4Tap "Identify with AI". It usually takes a few seconds, and occasionally up to half a minute
  • 5Check the name and the fields that were filled in, fix anything that is off
  • 6Tap "Save"

    • The photo stays as the item's cover, the same as any photo you upload. If you remove the photo, the button goes away.

    Owlect only fills fields that are still empty. Anything you already typed stays exactly as it is.

    Check before you save

    The result is a best guess, not a lookup in an official catalog. Read it over before saving.

  • It works best on a clear photo of the front, the cover or the label, in good light, with names and numbers readable
  • Common items are usually right. Rare variants, special editions and misprints are harder to tell apart
  • Coins and obscure records are weaker. Expect to correct the details more often
  • If Owlect cannot tell what the item is, it says so and you fill in the item yourself

    • How many photos you can identify

    Every plan includes a number of AI scans per day, plus a monthly cap. Free has the fewest, Plus and Pro have more. The current numbers are on the pricing page.

  • The daily scans reset at midnight UTC
  • On Plus and Pro your month starts on your subscription's renewal day. On Free it starts on the 1st

    • Scan credits

    If you need more scans than your plan has left, you can buy a one-time pack of scan credits on the AI scan credits page in the app (/app/credits). It is not a subscription.

  • Credits never expire
  • They are used only when your remaining daily or monthly scans can't cover a scan, for example a shelf photo that needs more scans than you have left

    • What happens to your photo

    The photo becomes the item's cover through the normal upload, like any other photo you add. To identify the item, a resized copy is sent to an AI service. Owlect does not keep that copy and does not keep a history of your scans.

    For an overview of the feature, see Identify items from a photo.

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