Google brings spam detection to Circle to Search: Here's how it works

Google has updated its popular AI tool Circle to Search with support for scam detection, allowing users to identify fraudulent content on their screen with a tap. Further, the company has introduced a new set of Android features that will reach users in the coming weeks. This includes an update to Google’s Phone app that lets users mark a call as ‘urgent,’ with the new Call Reason feature.

Google’s new spam prevention tool and other enhancements: Key details

Google, through a new blog post, announced new features and accessibility improvements arriving for Android 16 users, which will be rolled out in the coming weeks. One of the key highlights is an enhancement to Circle to Search, where users can verify suspicious messages or prompts by circling the content. This feature will then show an AI Overview with information about a potential scam and provide steps to stay safe.

Further, the company has also announced a new Call Reason feature in the Phone by Google app that lets users mark any saved contact as ‘urgent.’ The receiver sees the tag during the call and in the call history if they miss the call from that particular contact. It is similar to Google labelling particular emails with stars or other icons to bring them to your attention.

With Android 16, Google has also updated its ‘Expressive Captions,’ which generate real-time captions. It will also display emotion tags like joy or sadness. According to Google, the aim is to give viewers more context when the audio is off, particularly on short videos, livestreams or social stories, by displaying non-verbal cues alongside the transcribed text. Moreover, Google now allows users to pin tabs in Chrome on their Android phones to access certain important pages at the front of the tab strip.