Get stuck in games a lot? Google's potential Circle to Search could solve your gaming woes

Woman using Circle to Search on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
(Image credit: Google)

  • Circle to Search could add a new mobile gaming focused feature
  • Get Game Help would search the internet for tips and tricks based on an in-game screenshot
  • There's no guessing yet about when the feature might launch

Google’s AI-powered Circle to Search tool could soon bring a new level of usefulness to mobile gamers, if a feature found in unreleased code is anything to go by.

Android Authority took a look behind-the-curtain at unreleased Android code for an APK teardown, wherein a new chip (read: button) for Circle to Search was found.

Titled “Get Game Help”, the feature as currently designed takes a screenshot of the game in progress and uses this as context to perform a Google search and access tips and hints for the player.

This Google search doesn’t appear to be especially targeted, returning results from various platforms and websites, so may be more of a shortcut than an entirely new way to access assistance.

What’s more, Google may struggle to tell which game you’re playing, or which point in said game you’re specifically stuck at, prompting users to refine the search by noting the game and level manually.

Of course, we can’t say with any certainty whether Get Game Help will receive further tweaks to improve its accuracy and effectiveness before the feature launches to users, but it seems probable given its present state.

This feature doesn’t seem to be able to tell the difference between games and other apps yet, as the Get Game Help button seems to appear any time Circle to Search is activated.

Google have been pushing Circle to Search hard in the latter part of 2024 and early 2025 – it was only in September 2024 that the feature began appearing on phones outside of the Google and Samsung ecosystems.

Across 2024, Google implemented a slew of improvements for what has become one of its standout technologies, such as Shazam-style song recognition, but this is the first we’ve seen that focuses squarely on mobile gaming.

If you’re after more specialised gaming tips, you could always head on over to our sister section TRG, and if you’re just looking to get your hands on a Circle to Search enabled phone, there’s plenty of options to choose from in our list of the best Android phones.

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Jamie Richards
Mobile Computing Staff Writer

Jamie is a Mobile Computing Staff Writer for TechRadar, responsible for covering phones and tablets. He’s been tech-obsessed from a young age and has written for various news and culture publications. Jamie graduated from Goldsmiths, University of London in 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism. Since starting out as a music blogger in 2020, he’s worked on local news stories, finance trade magazines, and multimedia political features. He brings a love for digital journalism and consumer technology to TechRadar. Outside of the TechRadar office, Jamie can be found binge-watching tech reviews, DJing in local venues around London, or challenging friends to a game of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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