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Google adds AI Mode to Circle to Search

Circle to Search gains AI Mode integration, multimodal capabilities, and gaming assistance across 300 million Android devices.

Luis Rijo

• 5 min read
Circle to Search with AI Mode analyzing Dubai chocolate bars on Android device interface
Circle to Search with AI Mode analyzing Dubai chocolate bars on Android device interface

Google announced on July 9, 2025, significant enhancements to Circle to Search, integrating advanced AI Mode capabilities and introducing dedicated gaming assistance features. The updates mark a substantial expansion of the visual search tool, now available on more than 300 million Android devices worldwide.

According to Harsh Kharbanda, Director of Product Management for Search, the enhancements bring "our most powerful AI search experience, AI Mode, right into Circle to Search." The integration allows users to access AI Mode's advanced reasoning capabilities directly within their existing Circle to Search workflows, eliminating the need to switch between applications.

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Summary

Who: Harsh Kharbanda, Director of Product Management for Search at Google, announced the enhancements affecting users of 300 million Android devices worldwide.

What: Google integrated AI Mode capabilities into Circle to Search and introduced gaming assistance features, allowing users to ask follow-up questions and receive contextual help while gaming without switching applications.

When: The announcement was made on July 9, 2025, with features becoming available immediately in countries where AI Overviews are accessible.

Where: The enhancements are available globally on Android devices with Circle to Search capability, with AI Mode access specifically available in the United States and India.

Why: Google aims to provide more comprehensive search experiences through visual interfaces while maintaining market leadership amid competition from conversational AI platforms and changing user behavior toward complex, multimodal queries.

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The technical implementation leverages Google's query fan-out technique, which breaks down user inquiries into multiple subtopics while simultaneously processing hundreds of related searches. This approach differs fundamentally from traditional search algorithms that rank individual web pages based on relevance signals.

Users can activate the enhanced features through the familiar Circle to Search interface. "Simply long press the home button or navigation bar, then circle, tap, or gesture on what you want to search," Kharbanda explained in the announcement. When Google's systems determine an AI response would be most helpful, an AI Overview appears in search results.

The new workflow enables deeper exploration through a dedicated "dive deeper with AI Mode" option. Users can scroll to the bottom of their initial results and tap this feature to ask follow-up questions and explore relevant content across the web. This capability extends beyond the initial visual search, providing conversational interfaces for complex queries that previously required multiple separate searches.

Google has also expanded AI Mode access through Google Lens via the Google app on both Android and iOS platforms. The company positioned this expansion as ensuring that "no matter where you're asking for help with your multimodal questions, AI Mode can provide deeper insights." The feature remains available in the United States and India, where AI Mode has received broader deployment.

The gaming assistance functionality addresses a specific use case that emerged from user behavior analysis. According to the announcement, users can now "get in-the-moment help with Circle to Search while gaming on mobile." The feature targets scenarios where players need character identification or strategy guidance without interrupting their gaming sessions.

Technical integration of gaming assistance operates through the same gesture-based activation method. Players long press the home button or navigation bar on Android devices to activate Circle to Search, then circle or tap elements within their games. The system generates AI Overviews with relevant information about on-screen content, including suggested videos for additional guidance.

The gaming feature availability extends to all countries where AI Overviews are currently accessible. This geographic coverage represents a significant expansion from Circle to Search's initial limited rollout, which began on select Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel devices in January 2024.

Google has simultaneously upgraded AI Overviews to enhance visual presentation and information accessibility. According to the announcement, responses now feature improved readability through better information breakdown and increased visual integration. The enhancements aim to provide users with enhanced context precisely when needed.

The development builds upon Circle to Search's expanded device compatibility, which recently extended to Nothing Phone series devices through Android 15 updates. The feature's growth trajectory demonstrates Google's commitment to expanding visual search capabilities across diverse Android ecosystems.

Industry analysis suggests these enhancements position Circle to Search as a comprehensive multimodal search solution rather than a simple visual lookup tool. The integration with AI Mode particularly addresses user demand for more sophisticated query processing capabilities that can handle complex, exploratory research tasks.

The timing of these announcements coincides with Google's broader AI search expansion strategy. The company recently launched AI Mode in India and extended the feature to Google Workspace accounts across the United States, demonstrating systematic global deployment of advanced search capabilities.

For marketing professionals, these developments signal continued evolution in how users discover and interact with content through visual search interfaces. The integration of AI Mode capabilities particularly affects content optimization strategies, as publishers must now consider visibility within synthesized AI responses rather than traditional search result rankings.

The expanded Circle to Search functionality also impacts mobile user experience design, as the feature increasingly serves as a universal information access point across different application contexts. Gaming assistance specifically demonstrates Google's approach to context-aware search experiences that adapt to specific user activities and environments.

Technical performance metrics from the broader AI Mode deployment provide context for Circle to Search's enhanced capabilities. According to Google's Q1 2025 earnings data, monthly visual searches with Lens increased by five billion since October, while Circle to Search usage increased nearly 40% during the first quarter of 2025.

The announcement represents part of Google's comprehensive strategy to maintain search market leadership amid increasing competition from conversational AI platforms. By integrating advanced AI capabilities directly into visual search workflows, the company addresses user behavior shifts toward more complex, multimodal query patterns.

Circle to Search's evolution from a simple visual lookup tool to a comprehensive AI-powered search interface reflects broader industry trends toward integrated, context-aware search experiences. The gaming assistance feature particularly demonstrates how visual search can adapt to specific use cases while maintaining consistent interaction patterns across different applications and contexts.

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