Android will soon let you use Circle to Search on messaging bubbles

Search is Google’s core business, which is why its Circle to Search feature makes so much sense. The feature makes it really easy to search Google for information about whatever is showing on the screen. Google wants to bring this feature to as many Android users as possible, which is why they’re working on making it compatible with as many surfaces as possible. Currently, Circle to Search doesn’t work when a messaging bubble is shown on the screen, but that will change in a future Android 15 release.

While digging through the Android 15 source code, I found code that enables Circle to Search to be run when a messaging bubble has been expanded. Right now, if you try to invoke Circle to Search when a message bubble is showing, nothing happens. The Circle to Search overlay doesn’t appear, nor does any sort of message that tells you that bubbles aren’t supported. As a result, if a friend sends you something that you want to search Google for, you’ll need to use an alternative method to look it up.

The reason that Circle to Search doesn’t work on bubbles is that Android currently doesn’t allow the home button or navigation handle to be long-pressed while a bubble has been expanded. Long-pressing the home button or navigation handle is the only method to invoke Circle to Search at this moment, so if those gestures aren’t available, then there’s no way to use the feature. Thus, the solution is to update Android so that these long-press gestures work even when a bubble has been expanded.

Although Google introduced code for this feature back in Android 15 Beta 4, it isn’t used yet, not even in the latest Android 15 QPR1 Beta 2 release. I managed to manually activate the feature, though and can confirm that Circle to Search works in messaging bubbles when it’s enabled. Since this change is quite simple and is already functional, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s enabled in time for the Android 15 QPR1 public release. If not, I still don’t think we’ll have to wait long for it to go live.

Circle to Search debuted in January on the Samsung Galaxy S24 series and Google Pixel 8 series. At Google I/O, Google said that it aimed to have Circle to Search on 200 million devices by the end of the year. To achieve that goal, Google updated Circle to Search to make it work on tablets and foldables, work when split-screen mode is enabled, and work when neither Google Assistant nor Gemini is set as the default assistant. Adding bubble support will further increase the surfaces where Circle to Search can be used, making it more useful for more people.