C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR Circle to Search makes it easy to ask Google about what you’re seeing on your screen.
Current Circle to Search results prioritize Google’s AI Overview.
A new Circle to Search workflow could instead pull up AI Mode results first.
If you’re not using Circle to Search on a regular basis, chances are you’re not getting the most out of your phone. Google’s screen-searching tool has emerged as one of Android’s most useful features, letting us effortlessly pull text out of images, track down where pictures where taken, and so much more. Today we’re taking a look at what could be coming up next for Circle to Search, with Google tweaking how it delivers its analysis.
So far, you get started with Circle to Search with a long press on the home button or nav handle, then highlight the section of the screen you’re interested (and spoiler: You don’t actually need to draw a circle). Then you see a card slide up from the bottom of the screen with your results:
Right now, these are normal Google Search results — we usually see an AI Overview up top, then visual matches, and websites below. And if you want to focus on another kind of results, or jump over to AI Mode, you can get there with a tap.
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Looking through the changes present in version 17.3.59.sa.arm64 beta of the Google app for Android, we’ve been able to activate a slightly different workflow for Circle to Search.
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