Google Search Image Source: Android Central

What you need to know

  • Google is testing query tiles in Chrome.
  • Query tiles are little search chips on the home page of the browser, serving as search shortcuts for popular topics.
  • Search app users may find that they already exist in some form on the Google Discover feed.

Google is testing query tiles in the canary and developer versions of the Chrome browser, a new feature that serves as a prompt towards what Google thinks you'll most likely want to search when opening the browser.

As Android Police reports:

The tiles are glorified search shortcuts with images, which let you get to sports news or look for vegetarian recipes by tapping a couple of squares instead of wasting time typing words into the Google search bar. In the US, 13 first-level tile categories are offered: News, Films, Recipes, Fashion, Music, Health, Electronics, TV Shows, Sports, Astrology, Education, Investment, and Automobile. Tapping each one reveals a few sub-categories underneath it, like Covid-19 under news, or video games in electronics.

If these sound familiar, it's because these query tiles already exist in the Google app, with many of the same categories already present in the Discover feed just a right swipe to the home screen for Pixel and Android One users.

Users may have engaged with these enough that Google may find value bringing it to the Chrome browser itself, or it may be a useful concession to users who don't necessarily use the Pixel launcher or Google app much, but who do use the Chrome app as a springboard for searches. As it's a test, there's no guarantee that Google will roll it out to the main version of Chrome, but a prior existence in the Google feed means that you won't miss out anyway.

Would you use search tiles in the Chrome browser? Let us know in the comments below.

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