Google is in the early days of testing a new behavior in Chrome that sends users straight to AI Mode, bypassing the standard Search experience.

Spotted by Windows Report, Google is testing a new flag on Chrome that, when enabled, bypasses standard Google Search and sends users straight into AI Mode.

As Google describes it:

Fulfill Searchbox Queries in AI Mode

Redirects all normal searchbox queries in the omnibox and realbox to AI mode threads. – Mac, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS

The flag is showing up in the latest Chrome Canary build on desktop platforms, but not mobile devices. And, true to its description, the change does send users straight into AI Mode from the Chrome Omnibox. Typing in anything other than a URL will send users into AI Mode which, after years of seeing standard Google Search in that spot, is admittedly a bit jarring.

Here’s what it looks like in action.

That said, it sounds like Google is just testing this out, rather than looking to make the swap in behavior.

For one, this isn’t enabled by default. Users need to manually go into chrome://flags and both search out and enable this behavior, and it’s limited to the Canary release channel on top of that. But, if that weren’t enough, a commit from Google explicitly says:

This is just for exploration. There are no current plans to push this live.

Update: Reiterating the commit, Google VP Rajan Patel says that there are no plans to change the default behavior. He adds that this was “in error,” though it’s unclear what the error is – Google didn’t enable this by default for Canary users.

Things can change, of course, but it seems standard Google Search in Chrome is safe – at least for now. Google Chrome is a huge entry point for Search, and as AI becomes more and more of Google’s focus, it’s not hard to imagine a future where this “exploration” becomes default behavior.

• Chrome for Android adding full Gemini integration and auto browse
• Google will let websites opt-out of AI Mode & Overviews in Search
• Google AI Mode and AI Overviews will highlight your Preferred Sources

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