Google brings ‘Circle to Search’ on iPhones with limited capabilities

‘Circle to Search’ is a hugely popular AI feature on Android smartphones. It was introduced in 2024, and became an instant hit. However, it was restricted to just Android devices. Now, Google has brought that feature to iPhones as well, albeit with limited capabilities.

For starters, it’s being called “Screen Search with Google Lens”, and as the name suggests, you need the Google Lens app for this to work. Moreover, it only works in the Chrome and Google apps, not system-wide unlike Android; just one of the limitations that Google seems to have to circumvent in order to provide the feature to iPhone users. 

This will show up as an option in the three-dot menu in the top right corner of both Chrome for iOS and the Google app for iOS. Once you select it, you'll be able to draw, highlight, or tap whatever is on your screen, whilst still using Chrome or the Google app. 

Google says you can “quickly perform a visual search while browsing without having to take a screenshot or open a new tab,” highlighting that the main use case is while you’re browsing on Chrome.

Google further mentioned that in a few months, users will “see a new Lens icon in the address bar” allowing them to access the Screen Search feature. Google also announced that Google Lens will now show AI Overviews results, just like Google Search does. This will work for queries relating to identifying objects.

The new features will roll out to iPhone users globally.