AI Mode Is Getting A Front Row Seat On The Google App

We’ve known about AI Mode in Google Search since December, though it only went official two months ago. For the uninitiated, AI Mode is an upgraded version of AI Overviews in Search, with the ability to generate more accurate answers for a wide range of queries, powered by a customized Gemini 2.0 model. We got an early sense of how the Google app on Android would go about implementing AI mode, while a report last month gave us another glimpse of this implementation. It now looks like Google is finally ready to nail down the placement of this all-important AI Mode shortcut.

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Reporting by the folks over at 9to5Google has revealed the AI Mode shortcut’s new home in the Google app’s search bar. It’s worth noting that Google previously placed AI Mode among the row of shortcuts just below the search bar, and it now looks like the search giant has greenlit the placement of this icon.

Much like the older search bar featuring the microphone and Lens icons, the AI Mode shortcut will be visible at all times, even as you scroll through the Discover feed.

Some of the Google app’s shortcuts are gone

AI Mode among the shortcuts row (left); AI Mode within the search bar (right)

With this new placement of AI Mode, the microphone and Lens icons take their place in the shortcuts row below the search bar, preceded by the Screenshots icon. However, this means the shortcuts for Homework, Translate, and Sound Search are gone. Additionally, the three icons in the shortcuts row are monochrome, perhaps to avoid taking attention away from the sparkling AI Mode icon.

The repositioned AI Mode option is reportedly available on both the beta and stable versions of the Google app, while it’s been available on iPhones for a while now. This AI-powered search feature is available exclusively to users in the US and was limited to subscribers of the Google One AI Premium plan until March. AI Mode was also part of a waitlist until Google decided to lift that barrier this month.