Gemini rival Perplexity is copying one of Android's best features

Circle to Search is one of the best features to come to Android in a while. It’s such a good idea, in fact, that Gemini rival Perplexity is now trying to make the feature its own.

If you need a refresher on Circle to Search, it’s a feature that debuted on the Galaxy S24 in 2024 and later expanded to other Android devices. It allows you to do a quick Google search on anything that appears on your screen by simply circling around the subject you want more information on. While the feature is available on a large selection of Android phones, it’s not available on every Android device.

In a social post on X (formerly Twitter), Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas shared that a Circle to Search feature is coming to Perplexity users on Android. That social media post also included a demo of the feature in action.

In the video, we see a user circling around a Perplexity query result and then verbally asking for more information. However, rather than using Google Search, the feature instead relies on Perplexity to provide additional details.

It’s unclear if this Perplexity-powered Circle to Search feature works outside of the app’s results. Srinivas also did not specify when exactly the feature will roll out, only offering that it will arrive soon.