TL;DR
- A new flag in Chrome Canary directs searches made from the address bar directly to AI Mode.
- The Chromium commit description states that it’s just for exploration and there are no plans to push it live.
- Google also said something similar when it was testing AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Google Chrome may be simple and fast, but it’s got a bunch of experimental features hidden behind Chrome flags that are often precursors to upcoming features. Now, a new flag has been spotted in Chrome Canary that could mean Google is getting ready to push AI Mode more aggressively.
The flag in question is named “Fulfill Searchbox Queries in AI Mode” and was first spotted by WindowsReport. As its name suggests, it routes searches made in the Chrome address bar directly to AI Mode. This is a major change in the behavior of Chrome’s address bar, which normally takes users to a regular Google Search.