Circle to Search should be enabled by default on supported Android phones.

On Pixel devices, for example, it's available once your phone is updated and signed into your Google account. To check, open Settings, then go to Display and touch > Navigation mode. Switch on either Gesture navigation or 3-button navigation (depends on your preference) and then confirm Circle to Search is enabled at the bottom.

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On Samsung phones, you may need to go to Settings > Display > Navigation bar to toggle on Circle to Search.

To activate Circle to Search from anywhere on your Android phone, and in practically any app, press the bottom of your screen, either the gesture navigation bar or the home button area, depending on your setup. The screen will dim slightly, and a search interface will appear over whatever you're doing.

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It runs as a live overlay. You'll see the Google logo at the top, an X button to close it in one corner, history options in the other, and a Google Search bar at the bottom. From there, you can type something to ask about, tap the mic to speak, use the music button to identify a song, or tap translate.

Now comes the fun part.

Once Circle to Search is active, you can select nearly anything on your screen. I usually circle objects with my finger, but you can also tap or loosely scribble over something, and Google will still figure it out.

For example, in Chrome, I went to 's homepage and circled an image of OpenAI's new Codex plugin directory. It highlighted the image, instantly pulled up Google Search results with an AI Overview that explained the image, and it even surfaced a small Gemini-powered "Create" button I could tap to edit the image with AI.

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Whether you circle an image, highlight text, or tap anything else, results appear instantly at the bottom of your screen as a card. You can swipe it up to expand and interact with it like you would in Google Search.

After you've circled something and your initial results appear, you can refine them further by typing into the search field or tapping the mic and speaking your question. This is where the feature becomes very useful.

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For example, while watching a YouTube video about popular hair masks, I used Circle to Search on one of the recommended products. After circling it, I asked about its price, reviews, and where to buy it. I got an AI Overview, along with traditional Google Search links, which made it easy to learn more without leaving the video.

Remember, when you activate Circle to Search, you can do more than circle people, places, things, or text. You can use the other tools that appear, like Identify a song and Translate, to learn more or find what you need.

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For example, in that same YouTube video, I heard a song I liked. I pressed the bottom of the screen to activate Circle to Search, tapped the music button in the search bar, and it quickly identified the track as a SZA song.

When done, tap the X in the corner or swipe the Circle to Search overlay away. It'll disappear, and you'll be right back where you started. Notice you never changed apps, and the experience was quick? It's like an at-a-glance search rather than jumping over to Google or an AI tool to look stuff up.

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