Samsung Galaxy
S24 series of smartphones got several AI features, including
Circle to Search
which enables users to search from anywhere on their phone by just circling, highlighting or scribbling – without switching apps.
is now bringing the same feature to the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones.
What is the Circle to Search
Circle to Search is essentially another way to search information and/or identify items in a video or image on the web.
It can be seen as an extension of the
Google search
feature that comes built into
Android
smartphones as a part of the Google app.
For example, you are scrolling on social media or a web page and stumble on something interesting. This could be an image, a word whose meaning you don’t know or a type of coffee that you’ve never had. With Circle to Search, users can find more information by summoning the Assistant, and quickly circling or scribbling on the product to get more information about it.
How to use the feature
To activate the feature, users need to press and hold the home button (or the bottom bar in case they have gesture navigation enabled) to activate the Circle to search feature. This brings up the search bar on top of all other apps.
Now all users have to do is circle the product or scribble upon the word they don’t know about or want information about. Search will return the results over other apps without having the user switch apps.
Circle to Search not only provides users quick information but also gives AI-powered overviews. For example, you come across several social media posts with corn dogs, and you want to know why these delicious treats are trending.
Users can use Circle to Search to look them up and ask the Assistant, “Why are these so popular?” Search will provide information about the corn dogs after pulling it from the web – the same way you would get when using Google Search.
English (US) ·