What a Pixel home screen might look like with a Google Search widget featuring the shortcut to AI Mode. | Image-credit-Android Authority
Android specialist Mishaal Rahman revealed images of what the Google Search widget will look like with AI Mode on the Pixel home screen. The AI Mode icon, which looks like the Search magnifying glass icon with the Gemini star, is found to the left of the microphone and Lens icons on the Google Search widget found at the very bottom of the Pixel home screen. The recently released Android 16 Beta 2 gave us a good look at the the AI Mode icon which was hidden in the code for the Pixel Launcher.
This is the icon for AI Mode which looks like the magnifying glass icon for Search with the Gemini AI star added. } Image credit-Android Authority
AI Mode, according to Rahman, is currently being tested by Google employees internally and is powered by a version of Gemini 2.0 with “advanced reasoning and thinking capabilities.” This will allow you to ask Google Search for comparisons and advice. Even after you receive an initial answer from AI Mode related to your Search question, a follow-up question can be asked and answered giving you an opportunity to receive more in-depth information about your query.
The Search bar at the bottom of the Pixel home screen includes a shortcut to AI Mode. | Image credit-Android Authority
On PCs, a new AI Mode chip will be found at the top of the Google Search website next to options for Images, Videos, News, Shopping, and More.
It isn’t clear when AI Mode for Google Search will be released but according to Rahman, it should come before the end of this year. I’m looking forward to seeing this feature on my Pixel’s home page because the idea of engaging a personal assistant in a conversation in order to get it to respond to a question will be, in the words of today’s teens, fire.