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Google’s Circle to Search gets smarter with new ‘Scroll and Translate’ feature

Google is adding a new Circle to Search's translation feature that automatically translates text even when you're scrolling content on the screen. Here's how to use it.

The new Circle to Search will first be available on Samsung Galaxy devices. (Express Photo)

Google’s Circle to Search feature is really helpful if you want to quickly look up a product or get information about anything on the internet. In the last few months, the tech giant has added shortcuts to the Circle to Search overlay, like the ability to quickly look up a song, voice search and an option to translate text on the screen.

Now, Google is giving Circle to Search’s Translation feature a much-needed update. Until now, users had to restart the translation process every time they scrolled or the content changed. But in a blog post, Google says that with the new update, the Translation experience is now “continuous”.

What it means is that when scrolling through an app, say Facebook, you see posts or images in a different language you are unfamiliar with, you can use the feature to translate the text even while scrolling.

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To use the new feature, simply open Circle to Search on your device, tap the “Translate” icon, and then click on the “Scroll and translate” option. Now, when you scroll down the page or switch apps, you will still see translated text on the screen without any hiccups. The new “scroll and translate” button will be rolling out for Android devices starting this week, but it may take anywhere from a few weeks to a month, as the update will initially be available on Samsung Galaxy devices.

A few months ago, Google added the option to use AI mode when searching for anything using Circle to Search, allowing users to make complex queries or even ask follow-up questions.

Earlier this year at the Samsung Unpacked event, Google introduced new features like expanded AI Overviews, one-tap actions for phone numbers, URLs and email addresses when using Circle to Search. Users can also use gestures like circling, scribbling, tapping and highlighting.