Google Chrome gets a huge free update that adds one of 2024's hottest new features

When Samsung announced its flagship smartphones at the beginning of this year, there was one particular feature that stole headlines alongside Galaxy AI. 

If you visited London at any point during the Galaxy S24 series launch, you may have seen the "Circle to Search" advertising on the Tube (confusing everyone wanting to travel on the Circle line). However, the feature itself, which leans on Google's AI, was brilliant. 

Circle to Search allows you to draw a circle around anything on your phone's screen in order to search for it, or things related to it, whether that's a pair of kicks your mate is wearing in their latest Instagram post or a plant you want to check is puppy-friendly. The feature uses the power of Google Lens to identify what you have circled and serve up relevant results.

Using the power of Google Lens is key here as while Samsung was the first to show off this wizardry, the Circle to Search feature has since arrived on Pixel phones, other Android devices and even iOS. And it's now available on Google Chrome, too. 

Google announced the Circle to Search equivalent feature – Drag to Search – would be arriving on Chomeboooks and Chrome desktop in a blog post at the beginning of August and that feature is now here (spotted by 9to5Google). The update means you can select, search and ask questions about anything you see on the web without having to leave the tab you're on. 

How to use Drag to Search on Chrome

Introducing the new Google Lens in Chrome desktop - YouTube

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How do you do it? Well, thankfully it is nice and easy. Make sure you're on the latest version of the Chrome browser and you should see a Google Lens icon when you click the address bar at the top of a window. 

Tap on it and then click and drag over whatever you want to search for.

You can also right-click on an image and tap on 'Search with Google Lens' from the drop down menu, or you can tap on the three dots in the address bar and tap 'Search with Google Lens' if you don't see the Google Lens icon.

Search results will appear in the side panel to the right of your screen and there's a search bar at the top to allow you to refine your search. Simple.