USPTO seeking AI-driven image search tool for patent examiners

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is seeking information on AI-driven image search tools to assist its patent examiners, according to a contract opportunity document posted Wednesday. 

The tool would be used to “improve search completeness and examiner efficiency,” the office said in the request, specifically while evaluating existing global patents and references known as “prior art.”

“As the volume of global intellectual property filings grows, relying solely on text-based or traditional classification searches … is no longer sufficient, particularly for highly visual design and utility applications,” the RFI said. “This AI-driven tool is intended to augment, rather than replace, existing USPTO enterprise search systems.”

USPTO receives thousands of patent applications every year, with about 1.26 million total pending as of last month, data shows. It has nearly 774,000 unexamined applications, and fiscal 2026 is the first time in nearly a decade that the office’s output has surpassed filings within a fiscal year, according to an April press release.

“While it may not seem like much, this milestone is significant because we’ve reached the tipping point of momentum now in favor of the applicant,” USPTO Director John A. Squires said in the release. “We’re steadily releasing robust AI tools to assist our examiners, and we’re about halfway to our aggressive goal for new examiner hires. That’s why I’m bullish.”

It takes nearly two-and-a-half years for a patent application to reach a final decision, USPTO data shows, and the office has nearly 8,800 staff patent examiners, not including design patent examiners.

Aaron Capron, partner and AI tech tools committee co-lead at intellectual property law firm Finnegan, and a former patent examiner, said he’s not surprised the USPTO is seeking a new vendor for this, largely because some large language models have problems with examining figures and the office would need something more custom-built.

“Each application has different figures, and how people draft the figures is different, and so maybe there’s a lot more variability,” Capron said. He said it’s a starting point, and if the agency “can be as transparent as possible regarding the process, it would help.”

The request for information says the tool should be highly accurate, scalable and FedRAMP authorized. It should take images as direct queries and be “highly configurable” to “significantly improve” patent quality.

Responses to the request are due June 19 at noon.