Circle to Search: The Feature Everyone Actually Uses

Check whether your phone supports it

Circle to Search is available on Pixel phones (Pixel 8 and newer) and Samsung Galaxy phones (Galaxy S24 series and newer, plus several mid-range Galaxy A-series models). To check: go to Settings, tap Display or Navigation, and look for Circle to Search as a toggle. On Samsung, it may be under Advanced Features. If you do not see it, your phone may not support it yet or may need a software update.

Activate Circle to Search while using any app

Long-press the Home button (the button or gesture bar at the very bottom of your screen). On phones with gesture navigation (where you swipe instead of tapping), long-press the navigation bar at the bottom — a glow effect appears around the edges, signaling that Circle to Search is active.

You do not need to leave the app you are in. The screen slightly dims and a search panel begins to slide up from the bottom.

Circle, tap, scribble, or highlight what you want

With the screen in Circle to Search mode, you can interact with anything visible:

• Circle an object, product, or face by drawing a loop around it with your finger
• Tap a specific spot to identify what is there
• Scribble over text or objects if you want to select a larger area
• Highlight a word or phrase by holding and dragging, just like selecting text

Google then searches for whatever you indicated. The results appear in a sheet that slides up from the bottom — you can scroll through them and tap links without ever leaving the app you were in.

Search for products, plants, animals, and landmarks

Circle to Search uses Google Lens technology, which means it can identify many real-world things from a photo or screenshot. Practical uses:

• Shopping: Circle a pair of shoes or a piece of furniture to find where to buy it and how much it costs
• Plants and animals: Circle a houseplant or a bird outside the window to identify the species
• Landmarks: Circle a building or monument in a travel photo to find out what it is
• QR codes and barcodes: Tap a QR code to open the link without a separate scanner app

It works on live content as well as static images — so you can pause a YouTube video on a product you noticed and circle it right there.

Translate text in any app

This is one of the most useful applications. If you see text in another language — in a social post, a photo, a menu, a screenshot from a friend — activate Circle to Search and highlight the text. Google translates it in place, overlaid on the original text, without you opening a translation app. The translation quality is the same as Google Translate.

This works for handwritten text too, as long as it is legible.

Identify songs playing anywhere

When Circle to Search is active, a small music note icon appears at the bottom next to the text field. Tap it and hold your phone near any audio source — a video, a TV across the room, music from a speaker. Google identifies the song, shows the title and artist, and links to streaming services where you can save or play it. This feature works similarly to Shazam but from inside any app.