Generative AI is everywhere right now, and Google isn’t exempt from the phenomenon. The company is incorporating the tech into Search as part of Search Labs, with SGE, or Search Generative Experience, entering public preview recently. Meanwhile, the Google app for Android recently picked up a dedicated finance widget that shows information on stock prices, indexes, and other relevant data. The company is now experimenting with a new drag-and-drop search experience within the app, allowing users to drag a search result (link, text, or images) to the top of the screen.

ANDROID POLICE VIDEO OF THE DAYSCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT

This new visual element appears to be under development and consequently isn’t visible to everyone. As per a video posted by Telegram user @theoj22 on the unofficial Google News group, it was spotted on the Google app, though the version number wasn’t mentioned.

It seems like the Drop here to start search box appears as soon as you long-press a link, piece of text, or image, prompting users to drop the result in the vicinity. We’re not sold on its usefulness for URLs, but it should be helpful for images or text that you need to dig deeper into, especially considering the robust integration with Google Lens.

Source: @theoj22 – Telegram

The feature does not seem to be fully functional yet. Per Android expert Mishaal Rahman, while images can be dropped into the search box, doing so attempts to open Google Lens, but the process doesn’t go any further. It’s unclear if this feature will make its way to all users anytime soon, but given that it still appears half-baked, we’re not too optimistic. You can check for an update to the Google app on your Android smartphone or do it manually via APKMirror, but this is likely a server-side change.