Last month, Google revealed “Circle to Search,” an AI powered feature that lets you circle subjects on-screen to perform a search. It’s an intuitive way to start a search on anything that catches your eye on your phone, whether that’s a line of text, a unique building, or a pair of sneakers.
The idea is so intuitive, in fact, that Microsoft is “borrowing” the concept for its platforms. Earlier this month, Windows Report discovered that Microsoft was testing a circle to search feature in Microsoft Edge, called Circle to Copilot. Now, the company is working on integrating the feature into screenshots in a feature named, appropriately, Screenshot to Copilot.
X (formerly Twitter) user Leopeva64 was the first to discovered the screenshot version of the feature. When enabled, you can initiate a screenshot, then draw a circle with the right mouse button. When you’ve circled correctly, you’ll see “Screenshot to copilot” appear on screen. Let go of the right mouse button, and Edge will share the selection with Copilot. From here, you can choose to share any addition context or questions with Copilot before hitting the send button.
How to try Circle to Copilot
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Microsoft is currently testing Circle to Copilot, and, subsequently, Screenshot to Copilot. As this feature is in development, you won’t see it when opening Edge on your computer.
However, you can try out Circle to Copilot ahead of time. The feature is available as part of Edge Canary, the version of the browser Microsoft tests new features on before sharing with the general public. To get started, go to the official Microsoft Edge Insider Channel page and download Edge Canary for your PC. (Edge Canary is also available on macOS, but the feature doesn’t seem to be live yet.)
Once downloaded and installed, open Edge Canary, then go to Settings > Appearance. As of this latest version of Canary, you should find a new Circle to Copilot section here, where you can enable both Enable Circle to Copilot in web page and Enable Circle to Copilot on screen. (Previous versions had these options in Mouse Gesture > Configure Mouse Gesture.) You can also customize Circle to Copilot from the Configure Circle to Copilot option, and should be able to set a keyboard shortcut for the feature.
Leopeva64 says Circle to Copilot in web page lets you search inside your browser, while Enable Circle to Copilot on screen lets you search any element on screen, even outside of Edge. However, they warn it doesn’t work very well yet.
If you aren’t seeing Circle to Search at all, you may need to adjust the app’s Properties, as Windows Report demonstrates. All you need to is right-click on Edge Canary’s desktop shortcut, choose Properties, then paste the following in the Target field: –enable-features=msEdgeCircleToSearchDefaultEnabled,msEdgeCircleToSearchSupported