Google tests AI Mode button inside the search results bar
Google is testing an AI Mode button in the search bar on the results page itself, not just on the home page. The button appears alongside the usual search control when a user starts a follow-up query from a results page.
The test does not show for every query or every suggestion, and it is not visible to all users. Search analyst Dwayne Cubbins flagged it publicly, asking whether Google was pushing people towards AI Mode for follow-up searches, and noted he could no longer see a normal search button in that spot. Barry Schwartz replicated the button but found he could still run a standard search, suggesting Google is running several variants.
For brands, the placement matters because follow-up searches are where users refine intent. If more of those refinements land in AI Mode, the answers a user sees come from AI-generated summaries rather than a list of links, so being cited in those answers carries more weight than ranking on the results page alone.
Reported by Search Engine Roundtable ↗
Topics: AI Mode, Google Search