You don't have to use Google Assistant or Gemini anymore to enjoy Circle to Search

The Circle to Search feature on Samsung and Google devices is an incredibly nifty search tool that cuts down on the number of steps it takes for you to search the screen. Instead of taking a first screenshot and then opening Google Lens, you just press and hold on the home button or navigation handle to bring up Circle to Search, then tap, scribble, or draw over the words or image you want to look up. It’s a great feature that I and many others use pretty much every day, but some users aren’t a fan of it because it locks you into using Google’s digital assistant. Thankfully, that’s not true anymore.

Shortly after Google rolled out Circle to Search, we reported that the feature won’t work if Google isn’t your default assistant. If you picked another app as the default assistant under Settings > Apps > Default apps > Digital assistant app and then tried to use Circle to Search, a toast message would appear that read, “To use Circle to Search, set Google as your digital assistant.”

This limitation made sense for one reason, which has to do with the way the feature works under the hood. Circle to Search uses Android’s Assist API in order to access an image of the screen — basically, to take a screenshot. Only the default digital assistant app is able to use the Assist API’s screenshot method, which is why disabling “use screenshot” under digital assistant settings or changing the default digital assistant app to something other than Google would break Circle to Search.

While this limitation made perfect sense, it was still unfortunate as it meant that you couldn’t use Circle to Search with an alternative digital assistant app like Samsung Bixby. Instead, you’d be forced to use one of Google’s digital assistant services, i.e. Google Assistant or Gemini.

Fortunately, this is no longer the case, as Google quietly updated Circle to Search to somehow work even when the Google app isn’t set as the default digital assistant app. Reddit user FragmentedChicken was the first to spot and send us a tip about this change, which we verified on both the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 running the Android 14-based One UI 6.1.1 release as well as on the Google Pixel 9 running the latest Android 15 QPR1 beta.

The most interesting thing about this change is we don’t know how it’s possible for Circle to Search to continue working when the Google app isn’t the default digital assistant app. Google recently added a policy that lets IT admins disable Circle to Search on work phones, and it works by denying AssistContent like screenshots from being sent to privileged apps like an assistant app. Based on how the feature worked in the past plus this additional context, we were led to believe that Circle to Search was grabbing images of the screen using the Assist API — but evidently, that might not be the case.

Regardless, it’s nice to see that Google found a way to make Circle to Search without forcing you to also use Google Assistant or Gemini. While I personally have switched over to Gemini on my devices, I know some users prefer using Samsung Bixby or some other app as their digital assistant. Now those users can enjoy Circle to Search, as well, without having to compromise.