Google has announced a new feature for its latest Android devices that allows users to search for details about videos, images, or text line objects by simply circling or doodling over them.

Dubbed "Circle to Search," the feature is available at the system level on the latest Pixel 8 and Samsung S24 phones, either by invoking the feature with a gesture or by long-pressing the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen.

Once activated, you can draw a circle around a boot, microphone, or wall light projected at an unusual angle, and Google search results for that object will be displayed.

Google says Circle to Search can be used with any app on the device. A press demonstration showed it working with YouTube videos, photos shared by friends, and message text.

One of the most interesting uses for this technology is in retail. Let's say you're watching your favorite YouTuber and spot the impressive lighting on their wall; instead of searching for the YouTuber's name, the lighting they use, and hoping someone else has shared that information, you simply circle it, the shopping link, the picture, Google will do the difficult work of sourcing and presenting a set of other results.

The new Circle to Search tool also works with the new Generated Artificial Intelligence feature within Google Lens.

Circle around a light display, doodle on a boot, or draw around a gaming chair, and Google Lens will open and ask questions along with image searches.

Google will not only display the image search results, but will also answer with text, for example, explaining who made the boot, what the boot is made of, and providing a shopping link to purchase your own boots.

The generative AI results of Circle to Search and Google Lens are the latest in Google's shift toward answers over results. The company says its goal is to make it as easy as possible for users to find what they are looking for.

Elizabeth Reed, vice president of Google Search, said in a statement: "With a simple gesture, you can select an image, text, or video any way you want-circle, highlight, scribble, or tap-and naturally find the information you need right where you are. You can find the information you need, right where you are."

"Circle is a great way to find the information you need, right where you are.

Circle to Search is currently available only on Android and in the US, with no indication of when it will be rolled out globally. Or, indeed, available on other Android devices.