Google Update: Circle to Search & AI-Powered Multisearch

After more than two decades, Google continues to develop its search engine to help users find anything they're looking for.

Recently, Google introduced two major updates called Circle to Search and AI-powered multisearch. Get to know these two new features through this article.

Circle to Search

In a blog shared by Google, the first feature introduced in early 2024 is Circle to Search.

Circle to Search is a new feature currently being developed by Google for Android. This feature allows users to search for information about anything displayed on their phone screen by simply circling an object or text.

This feature works very straightforwardly. Users only need to press and hold the home button on their phone and circle the object or text they want to search for. Then, information about that object will appear directly on the user's screen without requiring them to switch apps.

In addition to circling, users can also highlight text or even scribble on an object to perform a search.

Circle to Search utilizes Google AI to understand the context of objects and present relevant information. With this feature, users no longer need to take screenshots and use separate apps.

Currently, Circle to Search is still in its early stages and only available on some Android phones such as Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and Samsung Galaxy S24 series.

Overall, Circle to Search promises a faster and easier way to find information displayed on users' phone screens.

AI-Powered Multisearch

In addition to Circle to Search, Google has also introduced another major update called AI-powered multisearch.

AI-powered multisearch is an evolution of the existing Google Lens. This is a new search feature that combines the power of images and text with artificial intelligence (AI) to provide richer and more relevant results.

Here are the steps to use AI-powered multisearch.

• Take a picture, upload an image, or capture a screenshot: Like Google Lens, users can use their phone camera to take a picture, upload an image, or use an existing screenshot.
• Ask a question: Instead of just searching based on images alone, users can now ask specific questions about what is in the image. For example, users can take a picture of a flower and ask "What kind of flower is this?" or take a picture of a dish and ask "How to make this dish?".
• AI analyzes images and text: Next, Google AI will use computer vision technology and natural language processing to understand the image and text of the questions asked. This tool can identify objects, recognize relationships between images and text, and search for relevant information on the web.
• Get the answers: In addition to displaying web links, AI also provides direct answers to users' questions and provides relevant additional insights. For example, for a question about the flower above, AI can tell the type of flower, when it blooms, and how to grow the flower.

AI-powered multisearch is currently only available in English in the US region and can be accessed through the Google app on iOS and Android. Although this feature is still in its early stages, AI-powered multisearch has the potential to change the way we search for information.

With this feature, search efforts can become more intuitive, natural, and efficient, especially for visual aspects that are difficult to express in words alone.

Conclusion

In this update, Google has introduced two major features that are still in the testing phase.

Circle to Search allows users to search for information directly on their phone screen with a simple gesture, without switching apps. Meanwhile, AI-powered multisearch from Google Lens can provide in-depth results by analyzing images and text-based questions.

So, that's the summary of Google's blog about its two new features in January 2024. To try out both features mentioned above, users in Indonesia may need to be patient as Google prioritizes the US region for testing.