Google AutoDraw is like autocomplete for your doodles

Machine learning has been put to lots of powerful uses, but Google has a new way to make use of the technology. AutoDraw is the company's "fast drawing" tool for everyone, and it works much like autocomplete on your phone.

AutoDraw is a web-based drawing tool that uses the same technology as Google's Quick, Draw! AI experiment and it helps you to quickly create an image by "guessing" what it is you’re trying to draw. If this all sounds a bit mad, that's because, well, it is really. But it's also unique enough to make it well worth checking out.

There are many people out there who are willing to admit that their drawing skills are not up to much. On a day-to-day basis, this might not be a problem, but the time will almost certainly come when you need to draw something -- be it plans, a poster, an invitation, or whatever -- and this is where AutoDraw can help you out.

Say you want to draw a basic house. You can sketch a child-like outline of a box with a triangle on top, and AutoDraw will -- somehow -- guess what you're trying to depict, and offer you a selection of image autocompletes. In effect, the tool provides you with a quick, alternative way to search for lineart which you can then incorporate in your own work -- and it's staggeringly effective.

Check out Google's video for a quick introduction to AutoDraw:

You can try it out for yourself over at AutoDraw.com.