How to enable new Google Lens for Circle to Search-like on desktop Chrome

Google Chrome has a new feature that allows you drag to search on the desktop, just like using Circle to Search on mobile devices.

Avatar for Mauro Huculak
@Pureinfotech
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Chrome Lens (AI) search
Chrome Lens (AI) search / Image: Mauro Huculak
  • To enable Google Lens with AI on Chrome, open the chrome://flags/#enable-lens-overlay page, enable “Lens Overlay,” and click on “Relaunch.” The next step is to click the “Google Lens” button on the address bar from any website and select with the mouse to search.

On Chrome, Google Lens now lets you select and search any area of a web page, an experience similar to Circle to Search on mobile devices. Although image search (Google Lens) has been available on the desktop from any browser through the Google Search page for a long time, Google Chrome now integrates a new Lens button that uses AI to easily select, search, and ask questions about anything from a web page, without leaving the current tab.

Google is still in the process of rolling out this feature, but you can enable Google Lens in the address bar early by turning on a specific feature from the flags experimental settings page.

In this guide, I will explain the steps to enable feature that is a lot like Circle to Search on Google Chrome for Windows 11, 10, macOS, or Linux.

Enable Google Lens on Chrome

To enable Google Lens on Chrome desktop, use these steps:

  1. Open Chrome.

  2. Type the following path in the address bar and press Enter to open the “flags” experimental settings:

    chrome://flags/#enable-lens-overlay

  3. Use the “Lens overlay” setting on the right and select the Enabled option.

    Chrome enable Google Lens

  4. Click the Relaunch button.

  5. Type the following path in the address bar and press Enter to open the browser settings and set Google as the default search engine (if applicable):

    chrome://settings/search

  6. Open any website.

  7. Click the address bar and click the “Google Lens” button.

    Google Lens address bar button

  8. Click the Continue button to allow the feature to use Google to process the image.

    Allow Google process Lens data

Once you complete the steps, the browser is ready to use Google Lens with AI to Circle to Search on Windows 11, 10, macOS, or Linux.

Get started with Google Lens on Chrome

To select to search with Lens on Chrome, use these steps:

  1. Open Chrome.

  2. Open any website.

  3. Click the address bar and click the “Google Lens” button.

    Google Lens address bar button

  4. Select the area to search with the mouse.

    Chrome Lens drag to search

  5. Continue with the search panel on the right side.

    Chrome Lens right search panel

After you complete the steps, the right-side panel will show the matching results of the image search on Google.

The feature isn’t limited to websites. You can open locally available PDFs or images and then use the “Google Lens” feature to use AI to search and ask follow-up questions.

While writing this guide, I enabled the feature on Google Chrome version 127.0.6533.89 in the stable channel for Windows. Google says this Lens with AI is coming to Chrome with the August 2024 update.

About the author
Avatar for Mauro Huculak

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].