How to Use Circle to Search on Android

Circle to Search lets you look up text, images, or video stills that are already on your phone screen. You stay in the app you were using. Results open as a sheet over that screen, then you swipe away and continue.

Google documents the feature in Android Help. It is available on select Android phones, including Pixel 6 and later. You need a network connection because results come from Google Search.

What Circle to Search does

You select something on screen with a gesture, then Search runs on that selection. Official selection methods are:

• Circle an object or block of text
• Highlight a line
• Scribble over an area
• Tap a region

You can add words in the search bar after you select. That is Google’s multisearch path: image plus text in one query. AI Overviews can appear for those queries when they are available in your language and region.

Circle to Search is not a separate app. It is a system gesture that captures what is visible and sends it to Search. Apps that block screenshots (banking, some medical, and other confidential apps) can refuse the capture.

Google’s short product film shows the original gesture:

How to start a search

1. Open the app that shows the text, photo, or video you care about.
2. Touch and hold the Home button (3-button navigation) or the navigation handle (gesture navigation).
3. Wait for the Google Search bar and the gradient glow.
4. Circle, highlight, scribble, or tap the target.
5. Results appear on the lower half of the screen. Tap that sheet to expand it.
6. When you are done, swipe down, use Back, or tap X at the top left.

Tips from Android Help:

• Drag the selection handles if the first outline is too tight or too wide.
• If the search bar covers a control you need, two-finger pan the window or drag the bar to the opposite edge.
• Type extra words in Add to your search when the picture alone is ambiguous (“care instructions”, “ingredients”, “nearest store”).

Turn it on or off

On many supported phones the gesture is already on. To confirm or disable it:

1. Open Settings.
2. Search for Circle to Search.
3. Open the result and toggle the feature.

On some Pixel and Samsung builds the same control lives under Display and navigation settings (for example Navigation mode / Navigation bar). If the Settings search finds nothing, the device is not in Google’s supported set for this feature.

Default assistant also matters. Circle to Search expects Google as the digital assistant and needs screen access:

1. Settings → Apps → Default apps → Digital assistant app.
2. Set the default to Google.
3. Turn on Use screen and app data (wording can be “Use screenshot” on older builds).

Keep the Google app updated from Play Store → Profile → Manage apps and device.

Practical uses that stay inside official features

Identify an object or product

Circle a plant, a gadget, or a product label in a photo or a paused video. Swipe up the results sheet for shopping matches, similar images, and pages that describe the item. Add a short phrase if you need a specific fact (“replacement parts”, “scientific name”).

Find the look of an outfit

On Pixel 10, Pixel 10a, Pixel 11, and matching Pro / Fold models — and on devices that support AI Mode and AI Overviews — you can circle a full outfit and tap Find the look. Search splits the look into pieces and shows matches for each piece.

If the button does not appear, Android Help says you can type find the look in the search bar and press enter. Use photos where garments are clearly visible. Layered or half-covered clothes give weaker splits.

In February 2026 Google also described multi-object search: you can select several items in one image and ask about all of them in one query. That rollout started on Galaxy S26 and Pixel 10 and is described as expanding to more Android devices. Treat availability as device-specific until you see the multi-select behavior on your phone.

Try clothes on virtually

On the same recent Pixel list, logged-in users 18 or older in Australia, Canada, India, Japan, the UK, and the US can tap Try it on on an eligible product. First use asks for a reference photo or a model. Lingerie, swimwear, accessories, and Shopping ads labeled Sponsored do not get the button. History and personalized recommendations must be on.

Translate text on screen

Next to the search bar, tap Translate for the current selection or full screen. There is also Translate with scroll: start Circle to Search, tap Translate, then keep scrolling a page or switch apps. Official help notes that translation covers pages, messages, and social posts, not videos and GIFs.

Search from Pixel Camera

On Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold you can run Circle to Search on the live viewfinder:

1. Open Camera and point at the subject.
2. Touch and hold Home or the navigation handle.
3. Circle the object or text in the viewfinder.
4. Read the results sheet, then swipe down or tap X to return to Camera.

Check whether a photo looks original

Circle to Search can flag whether a photo appears original or modified. Google documents this as photo transparency detection. It can fail in apps that block capture.

Identify music

When the overlay is open, tap the musical-note control to identify audio playing around you or through the phone speakers. That control is part of the same Search sheet, not a separate app switch.

Official Android how-to of the same gesture:

Fix “Screen search isn’t available”

Work through Google’s checklist in order:

1. Confirm the phone is a supported model (Android Help currently calls out Pixel 6 and later among select Android phones).
2. Set Google as the default digital assistant and enable screen and app data.
3. Update the Google app in Play Store.
4. Confirm Circle to Search is toggled on in Settings.
5. Try a different app. If capture is blocked for security, pick a public page or Photos instead of a banking app.
6. Check that you have a working internet connection.

If the long-press still opens only the assistant chat, the assistant setting or the Circle to Search toggle is off.

Limits worth remembering

• Not every Android phone ships this gesture. Google’s public pages still say “select” models rather than listing every OEM SKU.
• Results need the network. Offline, the overlay will not complete a Search query.
• Screenshot-blocked apps will not yield a usable capture.
• Find the look, Camera viewfinder search, and Try it on are narrower than the base gesture. Match your device name and region against Android Help before you assume those buttons exist.
• AI Overviews and multi-object plans can be wrong. Open a source link when the answer matters.

Conclusion

Circle to Search is a long-press on Home or the gesture handle, a selection on the current screen, and a Search sheet you dismiss when you are done. Start there. Add text to the query when the picture is not enough. Use Translate, Find the look, Camera search, and Try it on only after you confirm those extras on your exact Pixel or other supported phone.

If the gesture does nothing, fix the default assistant and the Google app first. Those two settings solve most “isn’t available” errors on phones that already qualify.

Sources

• Search your screen with Circle to Search — Android Help
• Circle to Search — Google Search product page
• Google introduces Circle to Search — Google Keyword, January 17, 2024
• Circle to Search gets updated to search multiple things at once — Google Keyword, February 25, 2026
• Introducing a new way to search | Circle to Search — Google YouTube
• How to use Circle to Search with Google — Android YouTube