Google Circle to Search Now Available for Chrome and Google App on iOS
Google “Circle to Search” feature, which was initially made accessible on Android handsets in 2024, is now available on iPhones. Users only need to make one motion to search for anything on their screen with this AI-powered tool. Although it has limited functionality, Google’s iOS version is an attempt to make the feature accessible on platforms other than Android.
A New Feature
The new tool, dubbed “Search Screen with Google Lens,” lets users search for anything on the screen by pressing, highlighting, and sketching on it without opening a new tab or taking a screenshot.
Google emphasises that the primary use case is when using Chrome, explaining that you can “quickly perform a visual search while browsing without having to take a screenshot or open a new tab.”
In addition to providing search results relevant to shopping, the new feature can be used to process any Google search query and identify locations, animals, and plants.
This is somewhat limited because it only functions when using Chrome or the Google app, as opposed to Circle to Search on Android, which functions system-wide.
When AI overviews are accessible, the new feature is now being rolled out to English-speaking users. It will soon be available on Chrome’s desktop and mobile versions as well.
If a picture of an artwork appears in an article, you can quickly learn more about it by circling the image.
This week, the update is being released internationally on iOS, and Chrome on desktop and mobile devices will shortly follow suit.
The AI Overviews will “help you quickly make sense of what you’re looking at”, and will also give you links to “helpful resources on the web”.
Nevertheless, Google Circle to Search for iOS is restricted to Chrome and the Google app, in contrast to Android’s Circle to Search. On iOS, it cannot be utilised throughout the system.
Both Chrome for iOS and the Google app for iOS will display this as an option in the three-dot menu located in the upper right corner. After choosing it, you can continue to use Chrome or the Google app while drawing, highlighting, or tapping anything on your screen.
