# Google tests AI Mode sidebar on main search results page

Published: 2026-10-14T12:48:12.824Z · Source: Search Engine Roundtable (https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-mode-left-sidebar-42298.html)
Source date: 2026-10-14
Flags: single-source — confirmation pending
Entities: google, ai-mode, gemini

Google is testing the left vertical sidebar normally seen only inside AI Mode — Google's logo, chat history, a button to start an AI Mode chat and a settings icon — on its regular web search results page. Damien Andell spotted and posted a screenshot on X on October 14, 2026, per Search Engine Roundtable; SER's Barry Schwartz could not reproduce it on his own browsers, so the rollout looks limited rather than default. A second X user, Marie Haynes, reported the sidebar also surfacing Gemini app conversation history when entering AI Mode directly. Google has not confirmed either observation.

Why it matters: It's at least the fourth AI Mode entry-point test the wire has logged since September, each narrowing the path from a plain search to an AI Mode session inside the results page itself.

## What this answers

**Is Google testing an AI Mode sidebar on the regular search results page?**

Yes — a left vertical sidebar previously seen only in AI Mode, with Google's logo, chat history, a way to start an AI Mode chat and a settings icon, was spotted on the main search results page and reported by Search Engine Roundtable on October 14, 2026. Google has not confirmed the test.


Canonical: https://anythingengineoptimization.com/item/2026-10-14-google-tests-ai-mode-sidebar-on-main-search-results-page/
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