Chrome Canary tested auto-redirecting searches to AI Mode — Google calls it an 'error'

By: Anton Kratiuk | today, 03:18

A hidden flag discovered in Chrome Canary would automatically send every address bar search straight to Google's AI Mode — the chatbot-style interface — instead of the familiar list of web links. Google VP of Search Engineering Rajan Patel quickly responded on X, calling the flag's appearance "an error" and saying the company has no plans to make AI Mode the default search experience in Chrome. The catch: Google used near-identical language before AI Overviews quietly became standard for billions of users.

The flag

The feature, labeled "Fulfill Searchbox Queries in AI Mode," was spotted by Windows Report and confirmed to work on both the address bar and the New Tab Page search box. Right now, a standard Chrome search opens the usual results page — an AI Overview summary up top, then regular website links below. Switching to AI Mode requires a manual click on a separate tab. This flag would remove that step entirely, routing queries into a conversational AI response with no traditional results shown.

Code comments inside the build note the feature exists only for "exploration" and has "no current plans to push this live." That phrasing will sound familiar: the same framing preceded AI Overviews reaching 2.5 billion users, and AI Mode itself surpassing 1 billion monthly users within a year of launch.

Why it matters

Chrome controls more than 60% of the desktop browser market. Even a Canary-only test — Canary is the most experimental Chrome build, disabled by default and aimed at developers — signals a strategic direction. Engadget noted that DuckDuckGo saw a surge in installs following Google I/O, suggesting a portion of users are actively looking for alternatives to AI-heavy search.

The timing is charged in the UK specifically. The Competition and Markets Authority just imposed what it describes as a world-first opt-out system letting publishers exclude their content from AI-generated search summaries, effective June 2026. Any move to default users into AI Mode — which replaces link-based results with synthesized answers — would almost certainly draw fresh regulatory scrutiny over content attribution and traffic loss for news sites.

What's actually available

The flag is only accessible in Chrome Canary on Windows, macOS, Linux, and ChromeOS, and must be switched on manually. Standard Chrome is unchanged. Google's I/O 2026 announcements did include a new Intelligent Search Box that accepts text, images, files, videos, and open browser tabs as inputs — but that is a separate, official feature rolling out now in markets where AI Mode is available.

For now, nothing changes for everyday users. But Google's pattern of "just exploring" disclaimers deserves a watchful eye.