Chrome’s latest experiment could change how you start a search

Google Chrome is testing two bold new buttons under its search box: Nano Banana and Deep Search. First spotted by Windows Report, the update appears in the Chrome Canary test build and looks like another step toward making Chrome a more AI-forward browser. These new chips sit just below the “Ask Google” field on a new tab page, alongside the existing AI Mode button that was added earlier this year.

Nano Banana and Deep Search seem to build on that ambition. Clicking Nano Banana automatically drops the prompt “Create an image of…” into the search box, signaling a direct shortcut into Google’s image-generation workflow. Deep Search, meanwhile, inserts “Help me research…“, hinting at a Gemini-powered mode designed for more complex, exploratory queries. If these features roll out broadly, Chrome’s search box may evolve from a simple URL bar into something closer to a creative command center.

To try these options today, you’ll need to enable hidden flags at chrome://flags and relaunch the browser. Even then, Canary can be unstable as clicking either chip may crash the browser or simply do nothing. Nano Banana and Deep Search are clearly not ready for everyday use just yet. Still, when they do respond, they give a clear picture of Google’s direction.

The company wants Chrome to do more than open links. Instead, it wants the browser to help you generate images, dig deeper into research, and surface structured answers from the jump. This push shows Google’s growing determination to create new Chrome features to compete with AI-first browsers like Comet, Dia, and the recently launched Atlas by OpenAI.

If you want to experiment, enable the #ntp-next-features flag to make the chips appear. However, it’s worth noting that we also had more consistent results when enabling #ntp-composebox and #ntp-realbox-next. After that, relaunch Chrome Canary and open a new tab to see the additions.

Google hasn’t shared a timeline for wider availability, but given how visually prominent these chips are in Canary, it seems likely they’re being prepped for a broader rollout. Just remember: Canary build gets daily updates, so what’s broken today could be fixed tomorrow. That said, we still wouldn’t recommend using it for your daily web browsing.