Gemini now feels even more like Circle to Search as rollout expands

Android users have long had to pick between the conversational smarts of Gemini and the pure visual ease of Circle to Search. That friction is finally going away as Google is rolling out a huge upgrade that basically bakes Circle to Search straight into the Gemini overlay.

Gemini is currently rolling out an improved overlay experience that enables users to circle, highlight or pick anything on their screen and then ask Gemini about it. Android Authority noticed signs of this merger as early as October, when a “Circle to select” button appeared in the Tools button within the Gemini overlay. A month later, Gemini’s Circle Screen feature was released to a limited number of users.

9to5Google claims that more Android users are already beginning to notice the new interface arriving through the latest version of Google app (17.20). The shift brings Gemini closer to Circle to Search. Once the overlay opens, users see a new prompt that says, “Circle anything or ask about this screen.” Then you may draw around text, photos, or other things on the screen and utilize that as context for Gemini prompts.

Google has also tweaked the interaction a bit. The chosen area now has resize handles to make it simpler to fine-tune exactly what Gemini should be focusing on. Tapping the captured image afterward still opens Gemini’s annotation tools, so users can continue marking up screenshots before submitting them.

There is another small addition bundled into the rollout too. Gemini’s plus menu now includes a dedicated “Screen content” shortcut, which manually attaches the current display to a prompt.

Gemini could already interpret screen context in some situations, but this option gives users a more direct and visible way to control what gets shared.