Summary
- Google’s Circle to Search (CtS) is evolving into a more versatile tool, rivaling Google Lens in functionality.
- A new beta update for the Google App (16.18.37) simplifies initiating full-screen image searches within CtS to a quick two-tap process, replacing the previous method of circling the majority of the screen.
- While the update streamlines full-screen image searches, it introduces two extra steps for users who previously used tapping the CtS search bar as a shortcut to a general Google Search from anywhere on their device.
Circle to Search (CtS) has grown on me. The feature has become a handy tool that can do almost everything that Google Lens can, all while being far easier to pull up and get going with.
The gesture was recently spotted working in tandem with AI Overviews, with dedicated chips that would allow users to summarize, explain, or extract text from images from the Search screen itself. Building on the momentum, Google now seems to be testing out another CtS update, and this one seemingly streamlines full-screen searches into a simple two-tap process.
Currently, when you trigger CtS and tap the search bar at the bottom (without circling anything), it promptly initiates a Google Search instance within the overlay. This is a neat trick to access Google Search from practically anywhere on your device, all without having to leave the app you were originally on.
This is what that looks like:
Google is now changing this behavior, shifting the focus to an overall easier full-screen image search.
To run a full-screen image search via CtS right now, you need to circle the majority of the screen. This triggers an “Ask about this image” Google Search with the image pre-attached. Google App 16.18.37 beta changes this, making the process significantly easier by allowing users to initiate a full-screen search by simply tapping the search bar, as pointed out by 9to5Google.
This is what that looks like:
If you’ve installed the new Google App beta, and new functionality has rolled out to you (it seems to be connected to a server-side switch), you should see a new prompt message the next time you trigger CtS. “Search using your whole screen,” reads the message, adding that “when you use this search box, Google will use your entire screen to generate suggestions and results.” The new behavior essentially prevents you having to circle your device’s entire screen to ask Search a question about it.
For what it’s worth, using CtS as a Google Search shortcut is still possible, albeit with two additional steps. Here’s how that works now: Trigger CtS → Tap the Search box → tap the attached screen image on the top left → tap it again to ‘X’ out of it.
