Google denies plans to make AI Mode Chrome's default for search

Anyone who’s used Google to look something up in the past couple years already knows just how aggressively Search has been trying to steer users towards its AI-powered offerings. Whether that’s just AI Overviews, or full-on AI Mode, it feels like the company’s doing all it can to direct us away from old ways of searching. Earlier today, we shared with you how Chrome appeared to be getting ready to make AI Mode its default for searches through the browser’s Omnibox. And now, Google is already shooting that theory down.

What we saw was a flag in a new Chrome Canary release labeled “Fulfill Searchbox Queries in AI Mode” that swapped your address bar’s behavior from performing a normal Google search to running your text through AI Mode when the flag was enabled. Flags are often used to test new features before they’re activated for all users by default, so it at least seemed possible that Google was preparing to eventually start pushing everyone running Chrome to this new experience.

This afternoon, Google’s Rajan Patel, VP of Engineering for Search, posted to X to deny that the company is planning anything like that:

This was an error. We’re not planning to make AI Mode the default for Chrome searches.

That’s a pretty clear-cut position — at least on face value. Patel calls the release “an error,” but that really only means it was never meant for a public release, as happened with the new Canary. We also have to note that just because Google affirms it’s not planning to change the default behavior now, is no guarantee that it won’t decide to do so at some point in the future.

Still, if you were worried that your Chrome search experience was about to fundamentally change, breathe easy! For now.