Get the most out of Pixel Screenshots with these 8 tips

Screenshots are a super handy way to recall and save information as you come across it — but it’s almost as easy to lose or forget screenshots as it is to take them. That’s where Pixel Screenshots comes in: This Pixel-exclusive app, introduced with Pixel 9, helps you save, organize and recall details from your screenshots.

If you’re ready to start making better use of your snaps, here are seven tips on how to get the most out of Pixel Screenshots:

1. Use AI to search your screenshots

Pixel Screenshots creates AI-generated summaries below your screenshots describing the images, and it can search for specific information across all of your saved screenshots—for instance, if you want to find all the screenshots on your phone with music recommendations. You can head to the settings section and toggle “search your screenshots with on-device AI” to enable this (and, of course, you can turn it off at any time and it will delete the on-device metadata!).

2. Get suggestions related to your screenshots in other apps

A screenshot is usually only useful if you reference it again — and Pixel Screenshots has a feature to help you do just that. In settings, turn on “show suggestions from your screenshots in other apps.” This way, if you’ve taken a screenshot of a restaurant, the next time you’re in Google Maps you’ll see that location as a suggested destination when you open Gboard. Or if you took a screenshot of a song title while you were streaming music, when you head to YouTube’s search bar, your Gboard will suggest that artist.

3. Rely on Smart Filters to find what you’re looking for

Pixel Screenshots automatically labels your screenshots with filters so you can easily go back and find specific information when you need it. For example, if you take a screenshot of a movie you want to watch, Smart Filters will label your screenshots in the “Movies/TV” category, so when you select the “Movies/TV” filter later, you’ll instantly find it.

4. Save your Circle to Search searches

Now when you use Circle to Search, you’ll see a prompt asking if you want to save the image you circled, scribbled or tapped on to Pixel Screenshots.

5. Set reminders to return to an image

Oftentimes when you take a screenshot, it’s meant as a mental bookmark — something for you to return to later. But when is later? With Pixel Screenshots, you can set a reminder for a specific screenshot so you return to it when you want and it doesn’t get lost. Just tap the bell icon right after taking a screenshot or open a screenshot detail view and select the bell icon at the top to choose a time to get an alert. So next time you screenshot a coupon, set a reminder to use it before its expiration date.

6. Categorize your shots with collections

Collections are a great way to keep relevant screenshots together, so your shopping screenshots are in one group and your recipe snaps in another. There are a few easy ways to make a collection:

• You'll see a prompt when you first begin using Pixel Screenshots to create a collection — just the plus sign near this prompt to get started. Then you can select what screenshots you currently have in the app to save there.
• When you’re in the app, you can tap a screenshot, scroll to the bottom of the image and choose “add to collection” to add it where you like or create a new collection if needed.
• You can also simply create a collection right when you take a screenshot: After you snap it, at the bottom left of the screen you’ll see a thumbnail and the options to either add it to an existing collection or start a new one.

7. Head straight to Google Wallet for IDs, tickets and more

Here’s a tip that travelers will especially love: Stop losing screenshots of your license, passport, flight ticket or other important information. Anytime you take a screenshot of these types of items (think things you would typically keep in your physical or digital wallet), it will now give you the option to add it to your Google Wallet, so you can go straight there when you need to pull out that screenshot of your ID.

8. Speak to add a note to a shot

Part of the reason many of us use screenshots is to grab information quickly, so if you’re in a hurry and don’t want to go through the trouble of typing out an additional note to accompany a screenshot, try using voice notes. When you grab a screenshot or reopen it after taking it, scroll down and tap the microphone icon and start speaking — the app will transcribe it and add your note to the shot just below the AI-generated summary.