The best Galaxy AI tool introduced as part of this year's Galaxy S24 launch seems to be getting new capabilities. And that's an encouraging sign that Samsung and Google are not done fine-tuning their artificial intelligence-powered features.

I'm referring to Circle to Search, an AI feature that allows you to draw or tap a circle around the image you want to look up; instead of launching a completely separate search, Circle to Search results pop up in a separate search results window that slides The results are displayed in a separate sliding search results window instead of launching a completely separate search result. When the search is complete, the window closes and returns to its original location.

Earlier versions of Circle to Search were excellent for tracking shopping information about circled objects, but could also be used to search for details about places, animals, and plants of interest. However, according to some newly discovered code associated with Circle to Search, it appears that it will also add the ability to capture cell phone screenshots.

AssembleDebug, which spends its time discovering features in Google apps, discovered the screen capture code for Circle to Search and shared its findings with PiunikaWeb. In that report, you can see a more detailed video of Circle to Search capturing screenshots.

From what we can see, it circles something on the phone's screen just as it did before, using the handles to resize it and narrow down exactly what you are selecting. (In my experience, the current circle-to-find selection process is not accurate enough for screenshots, so this is a nice addition.) According to AssembleDebug, the "Copy Image" and "Share Image" buttons appear above the selected image.

The "Share Image" option is particularly intriguing because it suggests that sharing screenshots works in the same way as the Circle to Search results. This new feature sounds like a time saver without interrupting the workflow.

Sharing screenshots would be an exciting addition to Circle the Search on its own. However, I also like this rumored enhancement because it addresses my initial concerns after my first experience with Circle to Search at the Galaxy S24 launch event.

Circle to Search impressed me at the time, but I worried that its focus on e-commerce results would suffer from the same factors that currently undermine web search in general. I wrote at the time, "It's a feature that will have to evolve beyond its current use case." The ability to share screenshots is a pretty good step in that evolution.

Developed by both Google and Samsung, Circle to Search started out as a Galaxy S24 exclusive, but quickly jumped to the Pixel 8. Once Samsung and Google included this feature on their current flagships, we began to see it extend to other models. For example, Samsung's One UI 6.1 interface, along with the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5, already offers Galaxy AI tools on last year's Galaxy S23 model; starting in May, the Galaxy S22 model and Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Z Flip 4 will also add these features.

I think Google and Samsung are making their own decisions about which models will have which AI features, independent of the smartphone landscape, but I can't help but think that many existing Android phones will have some pretty cool AI-powered features, while Apple sits on the sidelines I can't help but think about the following. Sure, this year's iOS 18 update will bring a lot of AI features of its own, but imagine how many Samsung phones will already be running Galaxy AI tools by the time it arrives.

And in the case of Circle to Search, it seems to run a tool that gets even better with each passing year.