Catch+Release, a startup that lets brands license creator content, said it has launched an AI-powered search that lets users look for user-generated content in natural language queries.
The startup helps companies license creator content for their marketing campaigns. While brands can add links from Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to their collection for potential use, the new search engine lets them look for suitable content without requiring them to move from one platform to another.
The startup said that marketers can’t usually search for queries like “children at a birthday party” on Instagram. They rather have to rely on keywords and hope that creators have tagged images or videos correctly. The startup uses image recognition to identify scenes and objects in these media assets.
However, one of the biggest limitations of the search engine currently is that it can’t go out and search the internet for you. Catch+Release usually boards creators for licensing their content and asks them to import their assets and link their social accounts to the platform. After releasing creator onboarding earlier this year, the company has 600 creators on the platform with over 300,000 items indexed.
In a few test searches, we observed that the search engine was able to easily find images related to the query, but videos were a hit and a miss. For instance, “a dog playing in the Park” showed us some videos where there were no dogs. The company said it is still improving its recognition capabilities.
Catch+Release has raised $31.3 million in funding to date, including an extension round of $8 million it announced last month. The company has investors including Accel, Cervin, and Stagwell, HarbourVest Partners, Kevin Durant’s venture firm 35V, and Gainsight CEO Nick Mehta.