Google’s classic I’m Feeling Lucky button could get eaten by AI
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Summary
Google may retire ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ for an AI Mode button.
Users report various in-testing layouts replacing the classic feature with different button appearances and mouse hover behaviors.
Google’s focus on AI Mode illustrates its constant evolution and development, with the novelty of ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ wearing off long ago.
With all the important Google news floating around, one potential change is flying somewhat under the radar. A feature present on Google’s homepage since before it lived at google.com could soon get the axe, if a new in-testing layout pans out. The I’m Feeling Lucky button, once a testament to Google’s precise algorithmic search capabilities, could become AI’s latest victim, as some users report the long-running one-shot search function disappearing in favor of an AI Mode button (source: The Verge via 9to5Google).
Somewhat a relic of a bygone era, I’m Feeling Lucky hearkens back to when Google was just a search engine and nowhere near the information repository it is today. After entering search terms, the button bypasses the results page and takes you directly to the first result. Clicking the novel button with an empty search box takes you to widely varying, essentially random results, while simply hovering over it causes the button to flip to various moods, such as “I’m feeling hungry.”
As reports from some US users indicate, the iconic button could be on the chopping block. In its ever-advancing embracing of AI, Google is considering giving AI Mode the venerated homepage real estate where I’m Feeling Lucky has lived for decades.
Related
Google is no stranger to A/B testing, and this appears to be A/B/C/D testing, at least. Some users see the AI Mode button directly replacing I’m Feeling Lucky with no fanfare. Others see a colorful border around the new homepage inclusion, which (in some cases) animates when the mouse hovers over. Still more users see an AI Mode shortcut in the search bar itself, with I’m Feeling Lucky remaining unaffected below.
Three of the new implementations being tested (sources: @glenngabe on Twitter/X, The Verge, @AndellDam on Twitter/X).
The potential death of I’m Feeling Lucky probably wouldn’t affect most people’s typical Google searches. But it’s clearly worth doing right, which explains the multiple approaches currently under testing. Whichever AI Mode implementation Google settles on, it’s an interesting development that underscores how far Google and the internet have come over the years. Because Google doesn’t change its homepage just for a flash in the pan.
