The search box that has defined Google’s homepage for two decades is quietly losing its magnifying glass on mobile. In a test spotted by Search Engine Watch, a plus icon there now opens a menu offering AI Mode, Camera, Gallery, Files and Create images.
Signed-out visitors see the menu too, at least in this test.
The design mirrors the plus menu already in Chrome on mobile, which offers Camera, Gallery and Files alongside AI features, suggesting Google wants one entry point for its AI tools across surfaces.
Google first replaced the icon on desktop in December 2025, limited then to uploading an image or file into AI Mode. A similar menu showed up inside the Google app and on Android in April 2026, so this sighting extends a pattern rather than starting one.
Google has not announced the test, and it is unclear how broadly it has rolled out. If the plus button becomes the default mobile entry, search teams should expect more sessions to start inside AI Mode before a query is typed, shifting where visibility gets won.
Search Engine Watch reported the test, with images by Venkat, on September 20, 2026.
