Google is turning Search into something closer to an AI assistant with a smarter search box, broader multimodal input, and a wider rollout of AI Mode. The company says the updated search field is designed to let people spell out intent more clearly, then lean on AI-powered suggestions to help shape the query. It’s a sensible move: the old keyword box was built for a web that expected users to know what to type, while Google now wants search to behave more like a conversation.
The update arrives as AI Mode crosses above one billion monthly users after a year in the wild, giving Google a nice bragging number and a strong reason to push the feature deeper into the core search experience. That matters because rivals such as Microsoft have spent the past two years trying to make search feel less like a directory and more like a dialogue, and Google clearly does not intend to sit this one out.
What the new Google search box can handle
The new search box is built to accept more than plain text. Google says users can search with text, images, files, videos, and even Chrome tabs as inputs. It also waits for your intent and offers AI-powered suggestions, which is a neat way of saying the box now does some of the thinking before you finish the sentence. Convenient, yes. Slightly unsettling, also yes.
- Text, images, files, videos, and Chrome tabs can all be used as inputs.
- The experience is available across desktop and mobile.
- The rollout is global in countries and languages where AI Mode is available.
AI Mode gets more room to grow
Google says the intelligent search box is expanding to all countries and languages where AI Mode is available, and the same experience is now live on desktop and mobile globally. That broad reach is important: search tools usually live or die by distribution, and Google already has the distribution problem solved. The real test is whether people keep using AI suggestions once the novelty wears off and the answers need to be better than a basic query plus a click.
There is more on the way for subscribers, too. Search agents will arrive for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers this summer, working in the background around the clock to look for information and keep users updated. In the US, agentic booking is also expanding this summer to cover more local experiences and services, including business calls for select categories such as home repair and beauty. It is Google trying to move from ”help me find” to ”just handle it,” which is exactly where the search wars were always headed.
Personal Intelligence reaches more users
Google is also widening Personal Intelligence in AI Mode to about 200 countries and territories in 98 languages, without requiring a subscription. Users can connect Gmail and Google Photos, giving the system more context to work with. That is the kind of feature that can feel genuinely useful if Google keeps the privacy story clear, because a search tool that knows your inbox and photo library can be either remarkably helpful or a little too eager to help.
The next question is whether this AI-first search box becomes the new default habit, or just another layer people pass through on their way to a result. If Google keeps the responses fast, relevant, and less awkward than a chatbot pretending to be a librarian, the old search bar may finally justify its makeover.