Microsoft's Bing search engine will allow people to browse search results in picture form, as well as words.
Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice-president of online services at the computer software firm, said that the new offering comes as the world of search is about to change, reports the BBC.
Over recent months - Bing was launched in May - the search engine has been growing its market share, with a number of commentators suggesting that Microsoft's product could prove a competitor to Google's dominance of the sector.
Reflecting on the new picture function, Mehdi said: "There will be a more graphic way people will search and it will pivot how people search."
Microsoft has revealed that the visual part of its engine will focus on four main areas - travel, health, leisure and shopping - to begin with, but there is capacity to expand later down the line.
Picture search will bring new opportunities for online marketing and Don Dodge, director of business development at Microsoft, told BBC News that there will be "a lot of advertising money for shopping [and] for travel" for example.
Bing's appearance on the search market comes as the digital analyst comScore revealed that the sector had grown 41 per cent year-on-year in July.
