Google Lens could soon assist with page search in Chrome

Google Chrome is the most popular web browser app on Android, and its popularity extends to desktop users as well. That’s mostly due to the years of refinement that make it a reliable browser, but the development efforts haven’t stopped or slowed down, and we continue to see new features added to Chrome routinely. A recent report reveals Google is now working on another neat way to integrate Lens into the browser for page search duties.

Searching within a page is already possible on Chrome for desktop, using the Find in Page feature accessible by the Ctrl + F keyboard shortcut and the menu item under the overflow menu → Find and edit → Find. Since August last year, Chrome also uses Lens as the desktop alternative to Circle to Search on Android — offering additional info about something on the page you’re viewing. You can pull up Lens for this using the pill-shaped Google Lens button in the right-hand extremity of the address bar.

Now, WindowsReport has spotted a new feature that ties these options together into an address bar shortcut that summons lens for a feature called Page Search, which works like Find in Page. Users can simply preface their query with “@page” in the Chrome address bar (omnibox) and launch Lens to look up details. Visual confirmation upon activation is delivered by a pill-shaped floating overlay with the message “Select anything to search with Google Lens.”

Lens could play a bigger role in Chrome in the coming years

Still a work-in-progress

This feature is still in development, as indicated by the generic URL that shows up on current attempts to use the feature chrome://page/?q={searchTerms}. However, it is a simple addition to the omnibox shortcuts included in the Chrome Starter Pack, such as @gemini, @history, and @bookmarks. When compared to the simple Ctrl + F search function, this could offer additional convenience like context-aware prompting and visual prompting for results. Given the significant functional overlap, we suspect Google could eliminate the Lens button in the omnibox once this new shortcut is released and popularized.

Last month, reputable browser researcher and Android Police reader @Leopeva64 on X spotted a similar Lens tweak in Chrome Canary for desktop. While the finding was mostly focused on Lens offering Search suggestions when summoned using the omnibox button, it reiterates the importance Google is giving to the Lens experience in its most popular browsers. Making Search seamless on desktop is an arduous task and the world’s largest search provider could be the first to lead change.