Google's 'Circle to Search' coming to Pixel 8 and Galaxy S24 on January 31

Google has announced a feature called Circle to Search, that lets you search anything on your phone with a simple gesture. It will begin rolling out on Pixel 8 and Galaxy S24 devices starting from January 31.

Circle to Search is a feature that lets you search for anything on your phone by drawing a circle around it. For example, if you are reading a news article and want to know more about a person, place, or topic mentioned in it, you can simply circle it with your finger and get relevant information from Google.

This feature utilizes Google’s advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning to understand the context and content of what you are circling. It then shows you a pop-up window with a summary, a link to the full web page, and other related options. You can tap on the window to see more details or swipe it away to dismiss it.

Circle to Search is designed to make your phone experience more seamless and convenient. With this feature, you can save time and effort by not having to switch apps or type queries to search for something. To use this feature (after its release), you will need to have a Pixel 8, Galaxy S24 or any other Android smartphone that gets support down the line.

You can launch Click to Search by long pressing the home button if you’re using three button-navigation. It’s worth noting that this feature also replaces the Assistant activation. If you have gesture navigation enabled, then you can access the feature by long pressing on the gesture handle.

Once you do that, a Google Search bar, with voice and Lens capabilities, appears on your screen, accompanied by a vibrant blue/purple shimmer animation. At this stage, you can draw a circle around an object or create a squiggle over it to search. Apart from circling and scribbling, you can also tap or highlight to select words you want to search.