Circle to Search could soon get a new feature that would allow users to screenshot a portion of the screen, according to a new report. The visual search feature, which launched in January 2024 with the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, allows users to copy text from a selected area, but until now, it did not support screenshots or sharing with other users. That might change soon as new functionality has been spotted within the latest version of the feature.

According to a report by PiunikaWeb (via AssembedDebug), new functionality has been spotted within the latest version of the feature. It is not clear if it is available to beta testers or not. Based on a video shared by a tipster on X (formerly known as Twitter), activating the Search Circle and highlighting an area on the screen now shows two new options Copy and Share.

The option appears to appear automatically after first selecting an area, but even fine-tuning by expanding or shrinking the area doesn’t remove it. Once the user is satisfied with the selected region, they can copy or share the image, according to the report. The image is said to be copied to the clipboard, through which it can be taken to any photo editing application for further cropping or editing. The share option opens a panel that shows all the apps through which the user can share the image with others.

Until now, users could only copy text using the visual search feature. Although Android smartphones have the function of taking quick screenshots with a three-finger swipe down gesture, it captures the entire screen. In case you want to show only a part of the screen, the only option is to open the screenshot and then crop the image. However, this new functionality seems to be faster and more seamless as the user can directly select an area and split it in two quick steps.

Recently, Google released a podcast with several employees who worked on the Circle to Search feature. The developers highlighted the existing issue of accidental touches inadvertently activating the feature and said they are working on a fix soon.