Changes are coming to the Google Search UI

2 min readUpdated Dec 12, 2022Dec 12, 20226:08 AM

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The Google Search app user interface is about to get a new look. Google is testing some changes to the app, including a thicker search bar. Icons for voice search and Google Lens will remain on the bar. Also new, besides the girth of the search bar, is a carousel directly underneath with shortcut suggestions such as “Search recent Screenshots from your library,” get help for your homework using your camera and Google Lens, how to identify songs, and more.

These suggestions can tell you about things that Google Search can do that perhaps you didn’t know about. They also can start the process and get the ball rolling with a single tap on the screen.

Also new is a bell icon next to your profile picture in the upper right of the screen. Tap on it to see notifications related to all the topics you subscribe to on Google. Other improvements are coming to the app, including showing you search results even before you’ve finished typing. Just to let you know, this is different from showing you suggestions on what to search for as you type as that is currently available on the Google Search app.

The difference is that with the new feature, Google Search will try to figure out what you are looking for even before you finish typing it into the search bar and will show you results before you are done. If Google has the correct topic, you will shave valuable seconds off of your session with Google Search. If Google is wrong, the time it takes you to look down on the screen to check and type your query out completely will add a few seconds to your Google Search session. So for this to be useful, Google has to nail the algorithm.

Right now it’s still being determined whether Google is disseminating the changes mentioned above to the Search UI to everyone or if it is part of an A/B test (Google is known to run these often).

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Questions & Answers

What new visual elements will appear on the search bar itself?

The search bar will become thicker. Icons for voice search and Google Lens will continue to be displayed on this re-designed bar, maintaining their current position within the interface of the Google Search app.

How will the app offer new shortcut suggestions to users?

A new carousel will appear directly beneath the search bar. This carousel will present shortcut suggestions, such as using your camera for homework help or identifying songs, allowing users to start processes with a single tap.

What is the purpose of the new bell icon in the app?

A new bell icon will be located next to the user's profile picture in the upper right corner of the screen. Tapping it will display notifications related to all topics the user subscribes to on Google, centralising alerts.

Is the new search UI being rolled out to all users immediately?

It is currently uncertain whether these changes to the Search UI are being disseminated to everyone, or if they are part of an A/B test. Google frequently conducts such tests before widespread releases of new features.