Six months after Google released its Circle to Search feature on selected top-tier Android phones, the tech is now in beta testing for a desktop and laptop version.

One of Circle to Search’s key benefits was that it allowed users to search for anything by tapping, circling, highlighting or scribbling without having to switch apps.

The holy grail of creating functional search mechanisms that wade through the billion grains of sand to find the one you’re looking for, has led Google to this point. 

“We’ve already made it possible to ask a question aloud with your voice, find the name of a song just by humming it or search what you see using Lens. With every technological breakthrough, we’ve gotten closer to helping you search any way, anywhere,” Google said on launch.

[ChannelNews reported yesterday on a study that showed people were becoming frustrated with the quality of Google searches.]

A version of Circle to Search is being tested in ChromeOS 127 beta and Chrome 128 beta (for both Windows and macOS), 9to5Google reported. It says it’s currently labelled as “Search with Google Lens” for Windows and macOS and “Drag to Search” on ChromeOS.

Google beta testing release.

“On macOS or Windows with Chrome 128 beta, users can access this new feature by selecting ‘Search with Google Lens’ from the overflow menu,” 9to5Google reported. “This option can also be pinned to the side panel for easy access. [In] ChromeOS, its users can trigger the feature by clicking the new Google Lens icon in the address bar.”

A release note from Google said that with Google Lens in Chrome a user can “search within a video you’re watching, a slide in a livestream, or an image on a webpage. Google Lens will give you answers right there, in your tab, and you can continue browsing with the new information you’ve found”.

In recent days Google updated a blog to report: “The Beta channel has been updated to 128.0.6613.18 for Windows, Mac and Linux.”

The blog also stated that Chrome 127 (127.0.6533.84) for Android would become available on Google Play in coming days, and that “Android releases contain the same security fixes as their corresponding Desktop (Windows & Mac: 127.0.6533.88/89 and Linux:127.0.6533.88) unless otherwise noted”.