Google is trialing a version of the results-page search bar that adds an AI Mode button next to the standard search field, a placement previously limited to the homepage. The test surfaced last week after Dwayne Cubbins flagged it on X on September 15, and Search Engine Roundtable’s Barry Schwartz was able to reproduce it on September 17, though only inconsistently across queries and suggestions.
The rollout appears fragmented rather than uniform. Schwartz found the button did not appear for every search suggestion he tried, and pressing Enter still triggered a standard search rather than routing into AI Mode. That inconsistency points to Google running several interface variants simultaneously rather than a single finished design.
For search teams, the test is a signal worth tracking, not yet acting on. A button placed inside the follow-up search flow, if it graduates from test to default, would shift a meaningful share of refinement queries into the AI Mode surface. Teams should start logging which query types trigger the button now, before any wider rollout changes the baseline.
Search Engine Roundtable’s Barry Schwartz reported the test on September 18, 2026, citing a spot by Dwayne Cubbins on X.
