For years now, Google Chrome has shaped our Google Search muscle memory. Whenever you’re scrambling to Google Search something, you would open Chrome and type in your query in the address bar right at the top and send it through.
This would automatically open Google Search, complete with your query answered.
Google’s not looking to change the workflow, but it is looking to change what shows up when you press enter on your query.
Google’s AI Mode just got a lot smarter, and the search box is changing too
Information agents, agentic coding, and more
Instead of Google Search, prompting your query directly in the address bar might soon lead you to AI Mode.
The development was highlighted by the folks over at Windows Report, adding that the change is already in testing as a feature flag in Chrome Canary.
The flag is aptly named ‘Fulfill Searchbox Queries in AI Mode.’
The flag is supposed to work across Mac, Windows, Linux, and ChromeOS, but not on the Chrome mobile apps. In my case, despite enabling it, searchbox queries still get directed to Google Search. That’s not the case with Windows Report.
For them, searchbox queries automatically go to AI Mode after enabling the flag.
To try out the implementation for yourself, download and install Chrome Canary on any of the supported platforms mentioned above. From there, head to chrome://flags and search for the word “Fulfill.” There’s only one flag with that keyword, and it should pop right up.
Enable the flag and restart Canary for it to kick in.
It’s worth noting that this is still an experiment, and it’s not certain if Google will ship this for all. According to a code commit from Google, “This is just for exploration. There are no current plans to push this live.” If it does go live for all, it will be a jarring shift for users that have grown accustomed to the classic Google Search experience.
