Google is testing a new “+” button in the search bar on its mobile homepage, replacing the magnifying-glass icon that normally appears on the left.

The change turns the familiar search box into a starting point for more than text searches. Tapping the “+” opens a menu with options including Gallery, Camera, Files, AI Mode, and Create images.

The menu closely resembles the “+” menu Google added to Chrome on mobile. Chrome’s mobile “+” menu provides access to Camera, Gallery and Files, along with AI features.

Google first added a “+” button to the Search homepage in December 2025. That version replaced the magnifying glass on desktop and provided options to upload an image or file, which then opened AI Mode. At the time, the feature was reported as being available on desktop web, not mobile.

The same interaction has since appeared on other mobile surfaces. In April 2026, the Google app and Android Search bar tested a “+” menu with options including Gallery, Camera, AI Mode and image creation.

Bringing the menu to the mobile homepage puts those options one tap away from where many users start a search. Users can start an AI Mode session or provide an image or file without first opening a separate search mode.

It isn’t clear how widely the mobile homepage test has rolled out. Google has not announced the change, so it could remain an experiment or reach more users as part of a gradual rollout.

Why it matters: If Google expands the “+” menu to more users, AI Mode and multimodal search could become a more prominent part of the mobile search experience. That could make it more important for SEOs to understand how their content appears when searches start with images, files and other non-text inputs.

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Source:: searchenginewatch.com