How to use Circle to Search on Android

With the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung debuted a slew of new AI features, including Circle to Search, which is powered by Google. This is a feature that is now rolling out to the Google Pixel 8 series, so there are five phones in the world with it right now. It’s a pretty unique feature and one that is definitely going to save you a ton of time.

Circle to Search is exactly what it sounds like. This feature lets you circle anything on your screen and search it. This could be a phone from a review, a dress that someone’s wearing, a hat, or even something as small as a belt. It also works on text. And it allows you to search without leaving the app that you’re currently in, which is what makes this even more impressive and useful.

This is pretty similar to Google Lens. Think of Lens but on steroids. That’s really what Circle to Search is. Now let’s talk about how to use it.

What phones have Circle to Search?

Circle to Search launched on the Galaxy S24 series, but has since rolled out to the Pixel 8 series. And we’d expect many more to get this feature in the coming weeks and months. Here’s the current list of devices that support Circle to Search:

How to use Circle to Search

The first thing you’ll need to do is, turn on Circle to Search. Now, on the Galaxy S24 series, this was enabled by default, but others might need you to explicitly turn this one. To do this, head into Settings, tap on Display, and then Navigation Bar, so you can toggle on Circle to Search.

The next step is activating it. After you’ve found something you want to search for, long-press on the gesture bar at the bottom of the screen, or home button if you’re using software keys. From there, you’ll see a new overlay pop up, which adds a bit of a tint to the screen, with a Google search bar at the bottom. You can of course, tap on the search bar to search, but where’s the fun in that?

From there, circle what you want to search. So in this example, we’re circling the Google Pixel 8 in Mint from our recent TikTok video.

It’ll take a second to search for what you circled, then provide you with results. When you circle a photo of something, it’ll show you pictures from YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, etc, first before going down to actual links to websites, videos, and more.

Just tap on any of the results to head to that result. Just like you’re using Google Search on any other platform.

Now, once you’re done with Circle to Search, just tap the back button or swipe in to go back, and you can go back to what you were doing.

Adding to your search

Circling things is pretty cool and all, but you can take this a step further. You can add to your search, so that Google is searching for that picture plus what you’re asking for. So using the example above, I circled a box of the Pixel 8 in Mint. Then asked, “What is the price?”. Google was able to give me pricing, but it thinks this is the Pixel 7. So it’s not 100% accurate, but it does give you the specs, price, and where you can buy it. Making it very helpful.

Now I tried the same thing on an image of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 from an article on Androidheadlines.com and it worked almost flawlessly. Generative AI was able to give me the specs and a bit about the Galaxy Z Flip 5, as well as prices at a few retailers, including Samsung at the very top.

It’s not perfect, but this ability to add to your search is really useful.

And that’s Circle to Search. It’s a big upgrade to Google Lens and one that I’m definitely going to be using all the time.