New home for AI Mode in Search bar of Google

 A new Search bar to access AI Mode on Android is under testing by Google 

The company looks to make its latest AI feature a little easier to find and use. As AI Mode testing continues, Google is trying a new way to launch the generative experience from the Search bar on Android. Since launch, you’ve been able to start a new AI Mode chat from the shortcut underneath the Search bar at the top of the Google app. It lives alongside the buttons (Screenshots, Translate and Homework filters). Following are the some of the important points:-

Google is reportedly testing a slight rework to its AI Mode search launcher by moving it into its main app Search bar on Android. Google started testing its AI Mode in early March, which is expected to be available in early access for "select" users.

Tapping it still produces options for image attachments and the camera; however, its arrival in the bar kicks out the Lens and voice icons.

Following Google's recent AI test, the company is reportedly working on an improved Search bar to help users get involved.

Google is now testing a prominent AI Mode circle directly in the Search field. Replacing the voice and Lens icons at the right, a tap lets you immediately start typing. The “Ask AI Mode” field last week gained Google Lens integration with the ability to upload from your gallery or take a new picture. Found in the main Google app, the company is seemingly working on bringing a dedicated AI Mode button within the Search bar. The button (a magnifying glass) will be encased in a ring of Google's classic assortment of colours. This option is held completely separate from the app's primary Search function, the bar itself.

This design replaces the colourful carousel with three shortcuts to start voice search, launch Google Lens or jump directly to your gallery for a visual lookup. Right now, we’re only seeing this design on one device. Users in the US can now sign-up for AI Mode via Search Labs. On iOS, you can now launch AI Mode from the customizable home screen widget. It is presumably coming to the Android version, which recently picked up two new shortcuts for quick access to News and Saved (in light of Activity replacing it as a tab in the bottom bar). Tapping the icon produces a separate menu from the Search bar. Typically, users are taken to a list of "trending searches" on Google, as well as the ability to search what they want. However, for AI Mode, users tapping this new button will receive a short sub-menu with the feature's writing field.

Inside the field, at the bottom, users will find options to attach an image or to take a photo. The company is also giving users a look at a few suggested actions which it can provide insight for. Due to AI Mode's entrance in the Search bar, the publication notes that the Lens and voice icons have disappeared. Google has seemingly placed them beneath the Search bar, which means the other buttons for the Translator and more have been moved elsewhere. Nothing is for sure with this slight change, as it seems Google is testing this new location. It's also not quite as widespread.

Google's AI Mode is a relatively new feature. The feature is designed to feel like AI Overviews 2.0. At its core, the company stated AI Mode will seek to assist users with understanding "complex topics" by producing results which incorporate highly advanced reasoning and thinking. AI Mode is also said to deliver answers to more nuanced questions "in one go," rather than forcing users to dig through additional search results. AI Mode can answer a question briefly, giving appropriate links, while also going deeper with longer explanations. Google also announced that it would integrate Gemini into AI Mode, bringing multimodal capabilities to this new feature. This upgrade will ensure AI Mode can deliver comprehensive answers to complex questions in one go.