Today, Google Pixel 8 receives the ‘Flagship’ AI Feature from Galaxy S24
Google is finally rolling out the “Circle to Search” feature for the Pixel 8 series devices today. First launched with the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, this feature allows users to search for something simply by long-pressing the gesture navigation bar or the home button. When the search overlay appears, you can search by circling, highlighting, or tapping something.
Note that this feature is also available on the vanilla Pixel 8, unlike some other AI-centric features that Google decided to reserve for the more expensive Pixel 8 Pro.
Search circle: how it works
Google’s new search function works in different ways – whether you’re looking for a handbag you saw on Instagram Reel or comparing restaurant recommendations. You can even search for a specific word by circling it. Let’s say you come across a foreign word in an ad. You can simply launch a search by long-pressing the gesture bar, circling the word, and then getting results about its meaning. You can even translate the word there.
The whole process is seamless and you can close the results when you’re done and continue what you’re doing without switching apps. In addition, this feature allows you to compare options, ask more complex questions and take advantage of artificial intelligence.
How to enable it
It’s not clear exactly when everyone will get the update, but several Reddit users say they have. Meanwhile, some say they haven’t gotten it yet. Some users mentioned that they finally got it after waiting for a while and then the update came out.
It is possible that this is a server-side update and will eventually reach all users. However, make sure you’re using the latest available software version for your Pixel 8 device.
