Google Assistant app update introduces new ‘Search screen’ feature

Google, after its initial announcement back in February, has finally given its Assistant app a Google Lens-powered “search screen” feature. Essentially, this new feature replaces “What’s on my screen”, which was first introduced in 2018 with the Google Assistant app. It allowed Assistant to identify whatever was being displayed on a user’s screen and provide them with contextual information regarding the same.

Until now, activating Google Assistant might have resulted in a Google Lens shortcut appearing. Clicking on this shortcut would scan the content currently on one’s screen via Lens and search for the same on the internet.

Lens also used photos or live images from your smartphone’s camera to search for whatever was being displayed — and could also translate street signs, restaurant menus, and documents. However, the shortcut would not always consistently appear on every such screen and was therefore not exactly a reliable tool.

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The new search screen feature, in comparison, appears consistently in the Google Assistant panel. Furthermore, it has been found to appear regardless of what screen one may be on, on their smartphone, with the exception of the home screen. This saves one the effort of having to take a screenshot and share it to the Lens app, or the system share sheet to obtain information regarding the same.

Tapping on the search screen feature runs a scan on whatever is currently on one’s smartphone’s screen using Google Lens. From thereon, one can filter their results, including translate, text, homework, or shopping.

What devices are getting the search screen feature

The search screen feature has currently been rolled out on Pixel devices running the latest beta version of the Google App (version 14.31), and it is expected to be rolled out on other Android devices soon.

To find out the Google app version on your device, launch the app and tap on the profile picture in the top-right corner. Click on Settings, and tap on “About”. In case the application is outdated, navigate to the Play Store, tap on your profile picture in the top-right, and select “Manage apps & devices.”

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Here, under the “Updates available,” section, a link that says “See details” should appear. Tap on it and look for the Google app. Select the same, and on the subsequent screen, tap on “Update.” While this may update your app to the latest version, though, remember that it may not be the same as on Google Pixel devices and therefore, one may not readily have access to the search screen feature just yet.