cd /news/artificial-intelligence/google-experiments-with-sending-chro… · home topics artificial-intelligence article
[ARTICLE · art-22443] src=engadget.com pub= topic=artificial-intelligence verified=true sentiment=· neutral

Google experiments with sending Chrome searches straight to AI

Google is testing a hidden feature in Chrome Canary that redirects search queries directly to AI Mode, bypassing traditional search results and blue links. The experimental flag, discovered by Windows Report, presents a chatbot-like interface instead of the standard Google search page. While the feature appears polished and functional, a code note indicates it is "just for exploration" with no current plans for public release.

read2 min publishedJun 5, 2026

The company is reportedly bypassing classic search results in its testing browser.

Google seems to be mulling the idea of giving you the option to go straight to AI Mode when you do search queries. * Windows Report* has discovered a new hidden hidden flag in Chrome Canary, the browser's most experimental variant meant for developers and early adopters, that will take you to AI Mode by default. The publication has confirmed that the test feature works when enabled and has noted that it looks a lot more complete and ready to ship than typical prototypes.

When you do search queries on the regular Chrome today, Google will take you to the "All" page that includes an AI Overview with a summary of the results you get, followed by blue links that lead to individual websites. You would have to tab over to AI Mode if you want to use it. But when the flag is enabled in Canary, you're taken straight to AI Mode, which looks and acts more like a chatbot conversation than your typical Google search results page.

While Google hasn't publicly announced this test, the company has been putting more and more AI features into its products recently. At I/O 2026, it launched the new "[Intelligent Search Box](https://www.engadget.com/2176547/google-shoves-more-ai-into-search-including-a-dynamic-search-box-and-agentic-features/)," which can take videos, images, files and even Chrome tabs as inputs for search queries. After that announcement, DuckDuckGo [experienced a surge](https://www.engadget.com/2181849/duckduckgo-installs-surge-after-google-ai-search/) in installs and usage of its no-AI search website, most likely from people looking for alternatives that won't try to force them to use artificial intelligence.

If you do want to see the experimental feature for yourself, open Chrome Canary and go to chrome://flags. You'll see a new option that reads "Fulfill Searchbox Queries in AI Mode." Its description says it will work on Mac, Windows, Linux and ChromeOS. At the moment, though, Google doesn't seem to have concrete plans to roll it out anytime soon. *Windows Report* says it found a note from the author of the flag's code that says: "This is just for exploration. There are no current plans to push this live."
── more in #artificial-intelligence 4 stories · sorted by recency
sponsored brought to you by zahid.host 4,200+ EU-deployed projects
reading about agents? ship yours in a single git push.

Run your AI side-project on zahid.host

EU-based hosting, git-push deploys, automatic HTTPS, no cold starts. Free tier with a custom domain — perfect for shipping the agent you just read about.

$git push zahid main
Live at https://your-agent.zahid.host
Get free account → Pricing
from €0/mo · no card required
LIVE [news/google-experiments-w…] indexed:0 read:2min 2026-06-05 ·