Google to update Circle to Search with full-screen visual search: Report

Google is rolling out a notable upgrade to its Circle to Search (CtS) feature on Android, aimed at making searches more relevant by combining visual context with text input. According to 9To5Google, the feature will now automatically attach a full screenshot of the user's display when a Google Search is initiated within the CtS interface—enabling more contextual responses.
The update is currently in beta testing and is expected to roll out widely in the coming weeks. When the feature first becomes available, users will see a prompt titled 'Search using your whole screen' explaining the update.
Circle to Search: What's New
According to the report, Google has now integrated text search with screen-wide visual analysis. When a user taps the search bar within the Circle to Search interface, a screenshot of the entire screen is automatically attached. This allows Google to analyse on-screen content and offer more tailored search results—whether it's identifying an object, summarising a paragraph, or answering a question based on an image.
This new system enhances the original concept of Circle to Search, which allowed users to interactively circle or tap elements on their screen to trigger a Google Search without leaving the app they were in. Now, instead of requiring manual interaction with the screen, users can simply tap the search field to get full-screen contextual results, with Google treating the query as a question about the current screen—essentially, 'Ask about this image.'
How It Works
When Circle to Search is activated and a user types in a query, the system now automatically includes a screenshot of the screen in the search box. If users prefer to conduct a general text-only search without context, they can tap the attached image twice to remove it and proceed as before.
This shift makes context-aware searches easier and more intuitive—ideal for asking about content within apps, articles, videos, or images—without needing to highlight anything manually. Users can still interact with screen elements directly, but now they also have the option to use full-screen analysis as the default behaviour.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Mint

an hour ago

• Mint

Elon Musk's Tesla Robotaxi launches in Austin: Here's how much it costs

After a decade of unfulfilled promises, Elon Musk's Tesla finally began rolling out its driverless Robotaxi service in Austin. However, the first few rides were limited to a select group of social media influencers and content creators who are considered to be close to the company. Musk announced on X that the initial riders are being charged a flat fee of $4.20 per trip, but the long-term pricing structure remains unclear. Robotaxis are currently only available in a geofenced area of the city from 6 am to midnight. According to the terms of use posted by some of the first riders, the Robotaxi service may be limited or unavailable in bad weather. The Tesla CEO stated that Robotaxi launch was the 'culmination of a decade of hard work.' He also stated that both the AI chip running Robotaxi and the software teams were built from scratch within Tesla. Soon after Musk's official announcement, social media was filled with videos of people trying out Robotaxis showing a Model Y SUV running short distance trips with no driver in sight and only one passenger in the rear seats. Ahead of Tesla's planned rollout date, Texas lawmakers moved to enact an act called autonomous vehicle rules that requires a state permit to run self-driving vehicles, Reuters reported. The law was signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Friday and takes effect from 1 September. The law also gives the state power to revoke permits for operators it deems a public danger. Tesla hasn't yet revealed when Robotaxi service will be available to use by the general public but Musk has promised to take the service quickly to other US cities in the near future. In Austin, specifically, Robotaxi faces a crowded market with Google's Waymo already operational with a partnership with Uber while Amazon's Zoox is also running tests there.

News18

2 hours ago

• News18

Apple's AI Delay Might Have Made It Consider Buying This AI Startup: Know More

Last Updated: Apple is facing long delays with Siri AI so the company might be looking at other ways to get going against Google and OpenAI. Apple's AI struggle has stretched beyond one year since its AI features were showcased at the WWDC 2024 last year. And it seems the company is looking at exterior solutions to get its ambitions off the tracks which could involve buying another company which has readymade AI tools available from day one. Reports this week suggest Apple has internally considered bidding for Perplexity which is another AI company vying for a spot amongst Google and OpenAI. Bloomberg has quoted sources in its report which clearly highlights the situation over at the Apple Park in Cupertino. These talks have mostly gone through internally, and an actual bid or discussion with the AI company has not happened. Apple's AI Push: Buy Big The report claims Adrian Perica has discussed the deal with Eddy Cue at Apple along with other senior decision makers. It also says that Apple might eventually decide against making an offer but these details are showing us the company's intent to get started maybe using existing platforms rather than invest in building a new one. After all, Perplexity already has an AI assistant, a search engine and plans to build more effective AI tools. The AI company already offers some of these features for iPhone users, which Siri can only dream of right now. Apple is a trillion dollar valued tech giant, which means buying any company will come easy at least with regards to the money. But even if Apple decides to formalise its interest in buying Perplexity, how much would it possibly cost? The AI company will be aware of the desperation at Apple and decide to get the highest price possible, which could be well over $50 billion if not more. This is unlikely to be the last time we hear rumours about Apple strolling the cart looking for a solid product to buy. The company's senior executives were recently grilled in an interview by the Wall Street Journal and you can feel the uneasiness in their body language when Siri AI is brought up and how the AI race has become a tough nut to crack for the iPhone maker in the last 2 years. There is a reason why Apple decided to deal with both OpenAI and Google to bring their ChatGPT and Gemini AI tools to iPhone users, now it is time to see the company make a serious move for its own future in this battle. First Published:

News18

4 hours ago

• News18

Android 16 Update Makes Some Pixel Phones Unusable: What Happens Now?

Last Updated: Android 16 update was released earlier this month but it seems the supposed stable version still has bugs that affects the Pixel users. Google released the stable Android 16 update earlier this month but it seems the version is not without its issues. Some Pixel users who've managed to install the Android 16 update have noticed that the phone has become unusable because of bugs and the unresponsive navigation buttons on the device. These issues have mostly been cited after installing the latest Android 16 OTA version which is available for Pixel 6 and later models. The problem seems to have a limited effect and not all Pixel units are showing these signs but even then for a stable version it sounds like a major bug has passed through during the testing phases. The complaints from Pixel users have made their way to Reddit who noticed the gesture and navigation buttons not working on the Pixel phones. Some of them have seen the bug in effect for a few minutes while others have pointed out about the delayed response of their touch on the display. While others say switching to a different launcher app might fix the issue and others have suggested rebooting the device, which is probably not working as planned. Even though the issue is not widespread it seems to be linked to the Pixel AI ecosystem. What Google Has Said Google seems to have acknowledged the issue and is reportedly working on a fix that should be rolling out to all the affected devices via a public update in the next few weeks. The report here claims Google's internal team has worked out a fix for the navigation bug and we expect that to be available in the next update for the Pixel users. Talking about Pixels, Google has warned Pixel 6a users about a major issue with the battery that can be only fixed by reducing its charging hold and capacity. The company is going to roll out an update that will throttle the battery usage on the Pixel 6a model and this will be mandatory for most users. Google has started the process of reaching out to the affected Pixel 6a owners and they will be informed about the next steps in July and helping them address the issue. First Published: