Circle to Search now has AI mode for follow-up questions
The new change is making it easier for you to ask about an image or a piece of text. Circle to Search will now be providing your follow-up queries with AI-powered answers.
Basically, when you use Circle to Search and select an image, it searches the picture on Google and provides you with the results it finds. Before this update, when you wanted to search again with the image it searched for, you would receive results from Google Search, the regular version, not anything AI-powered.
This is changing now with this update. Now, after the results from Circle to Search, you have, instead of a regular search bar, a new “Ask Anything” search bar. There, you can ask about the image, just like before, but the results are going to be powered by Google’s AI Mode. This should offer you a better answer instead of just the regular Google Search results.
The same is done for pieces of text in Circle to Search. The feature works exactly like it does for images, so you can discuss the results with artificial intelligence. Hopefully, this will let you get more information than the regular Google Search. Of course, if it’s accurate.
The new version comes with version 16.47.49 of the Google app.
Circle to Search now has quite a lot of fancy features
At first, Circle to Search was introduced together with the Galaxy S24 series. That was back in 2024, when AI wasn’t everywhere on phones yet, and not every company out there was fighting for your attention with AI tricks.
Circle to Search is not a gimmick, though. It’s actually quite a useful tool and offers a lot of features intended to help you with anything you may be wondering about.
With a simple long-press on the home or gesture button, you can activate Circle to Search and then just use your finger (or S Pen if you have a Galaxy S Ultra device) to circle, tap, or highlight anything on screen – an object, a word or line of text, even something in a video – and instantly get search results and details.
It works almost like a cross between visual search (like a built-in Lens) and text/image recognition. You don’t have to screenshot, copy-paste, or retype anything: you just circle what you want to know more about. It’s also super useful when needing to translate a foreign menu, or to identify a plant or a piece of clothing in a photo.
Because it’s built into the system, it feels super smooth and fast. For me, that kind of instant convenience really changes how I browse online or scroll social media.
Circle to Search – yeah, I’m a fan
Honestly? Circle to Search feels like one of those small phone features that ends up getting used a lot more than you expect.
I’m the kind of person who often sees something online – maybe a weird object, a quote in another language, or some food I don’t know – and I think “Okay, I need to know this”. Instead of screenshotting and Googling, I love the idea of just circling and instantly getting answers.
It’s not just about convenience, though. After all, learning more about things is always a top priority of mine, and I like that I can do that simply and easily with almost anything that comes up. So I’m a know-it-all. Kind of.
The new feature is just further refining Circle to Search, and I’m all for it. One of the few really reasonable uses of AI, if you ask me.
