Google Spotted Testing a Search Bar Without the AI Mode Button
It showed up in one Chrome incognito session, Barry Schwartz couldn't reproduce it, and Google hasn't said a word.
Google may be testing a search bar without the AI Mode button, after one searcher shared a screenshot of it missing in a Chrome incognito window.
Search Engine Roundtable’s Barry Schwartz couldn’t replicate it, and Google hasn’t commented. So treat it as a sighting.
What was spotted
The report comes from Len Raleigh, who posted on X that Google “took away AI Mode in incognito / Chrome.” Raleigh shared a screenshot of the bar without the button.
Raleigh called it “just a test”. AI Mode was still there on Raleigh’s other machines and in other sessions.
Schwartz wrote it up for Search Engine Roundtable, describing the test as “supposedly” happening, and it doesn’t surprise Schwartz that Google would try it.
Why test this? Google runs tests like this on a tiny group of searchers, Schwartz says.
Then it compares their data with everyone else’s.
The AI Mode button has sat in the search bar since May 2025, so a test without it would show Google what changes when your visitors can’t tap it.
What we don’t know
The report leaves a lot open:
- how many searchers see the bar without the button
- whether it reaches beyond Chrome incognito
- what Google wants to learn from it
- whether the button comes back for those users
Google hasn’t said anything.
So all four stay open for now.
Why it matters
Does a missing button matter to you? I think it does, a little.
That button is one of the easiest ways into AI Mode, so taking it away could change how many people reach the answers your pages show up in.
And you’d struggle to see it. Search Console’s AI report shows impressions only, as we covered when Google said it has no date for AI click data.
So a test like this could move your numbers without anything changing on your site.
My read: I wouldn’t change anything over one screenshot. Google is also pushing more ads into AI Mode, so it has every reason to measure how people get there.
So for your own site this week, I’d do three things:
- Note the date in your analytics, so a dip or spike has context later.
- Search your main queries in a clean incognito window and see which buttons you get.
- Keep checking where your pages show up in both AI Mode and the classic results.
Is this the start of Google pulling AI Mode out of the search bar? I doubt it. Still, you’re better off hearing about it now than guessing at a traffic change later.
Spot it yourself? Take a screenshot of your search bar, then note your browser, your device and whether you were signed in.
Common Questions
Is Google removing the AI Mode button from Search?
Nobody has confirmed that. One searcher saw the AI Mode button missing from the search bar in a Chrome incognito window and called it just a test, while it still showed on that searcher’s other machines, and Google hasn’t commented.
When did Google add the AI Mode button to the search bar?
Google added the AI Mode button to the search bar back in May 2025, according to Search Engine Roundtable, which has tracked the feature since then and published a screenshot of how the button usually looks.
How can I still use AI Mode if the button is missing?
The searcher who spotted the test still had AI Mode on other machines and in other sessions. So if the AI Mode button is missing from your search bar, trying a different browser session is the obvious first step.
