Google Brings Circle to Search to Pixel 8 and 8 Pro

Google announced today that its new Circle to Search feature is rolling out to Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones. It was previously available on the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, which started shipping to customers yesterday.

“With Circle to Search, you can find more information about it right when it piques your curiosity,” Google director Alistair Pott writes in the announcement post. “Starting today, Circle to Search is rolling out on Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and the new Samsung Galaxy S24 series. Now you can search anything with a simple gesture — like circling, highlighting, scribbling or tapping — without switching apps.”

Circle to Search figured prominently at the recent Galaxy Unpacked event where Samsung launched the Galaxy S24 series of smartphones and its expanded Google partnership.

“Since the beginning of Android, people have turned to Google Search to feed their curiosity,” Google senior vice president Hiroshi Locheimer said during that event. “Smartphones unlocked the ability to access knowledge right from the palm of your hand — in any place in the world. So we’ve been asking ourselves: how can AI help unlock new ways to Search inside apps on your phone?”

Circle to Search is the answer to that question, a new way to search from any app on your phone. Now, you can circle, highlight, scribble, or tap whatever it is onscreen you want to know more about and Google AI will give you more information. It could be an unfamiliar word, a product, a location, or anything else. Frankly, the name is all wrong: I would have called it Search Anywhere.

You invoke this feature by long-tapping on the gesture navigation bar or the virtual home button at the bottom of the screen. It works surprisingly well, and it feels like the type of thing we’ll soon take for granted and will later be surprised to discover this wasn’t always a smartphone feature. I assume it will roll out to more phones in the future.