Circle to Search on Mac
Circle to Search on Mac, for talking to any AI app
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Circle to Search is a Google feature for phones. Circl brings the circle-it gesture to your Mac, but for a different job. Instead of searching the web, Circl takes the part of your screen you circle, plus what you say, and sends both to any AI app: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Codex, Claude Code, Cursor or any other app with a text box.
What Circle to Search is
Circle to Search is Google’s feature for searching from a phone screen: you circle, highlight or tap something and get search results for it. It runs on supported Android phones.
What Circl does on a Mac
On your Mac, you hold a shortcut or mouse button and draw around anything on screen while you say what you want. Hold Shift for a box, press Esc to cancel. When you let go, the cropped screenshot and your words land in your AI app. Circl sends them for you in Claude (the app and claude.ai), plus Codex CLI or Claude Code in Terminal; everywhere else you press Return. See how it works.
Circl does not search the web, translate, or identify objects by itself. It does one job: showing your AI what you mean, so you can ask it anything about what you circled.
Circle to Search and Circl, side by side
| Circle to Search | Circl | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | Supported Android phones | Macs with macOS 14 or later |
| Gesture | Circle, highlight or tap | Hold ⌘⇧2 or a mouse button and draw a circle (or a box with Shift) |
| What happens next | Search results for what you circled | Your cropped screenshot and spoken words go into any AI app you choose |
| Voice | Not part of the gesture | You speak the request; transcribed on your Mac |
| Price | Feature of supported phones | 7-day free trial, then $6.99/month |
Who Circl is for
- People who use AI apps on a Mac, such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok or Cursor, and want to point at the thing instead of describing it.
- People who would rather talk than type a long prompt, and who want transcription to stay on their Mac.
If you want a search engine, Circl is the wrong tool. For examples with agents in a terminal, see Circl with Claude Code or Circl with Codex.
Try Circl
7-day free trial, then $6.99/month. macOS 14 or later. A card is required for the trial; cancel before it ends and you won’t be charged.