Here's How to Use New 'Plus' Button on Google Search to Find More Info and More

A new Plus button has appeared on the search bar of Google Search, and it aims to transform the experience by taking users directly to the AI Mode feature.

Google Adds a 'Plus' Button to Improve Search

According to 9to5Google, Google has not changed Google.com or Google Search that much in its entire history. However, in its recent update to the search engine, the company added a Plus button that revamps the experience.

The new feature was added by the platform to improve the search experience on the platform, and it was placed there to help users expand their browsing by grouping together two already existing features.

These features are the "Upload images" and the "Upload files" feature of the search engine platform, which previously used either the Google Lens built-in experience or the search the web feature.

According to the report, the Plus button ("+") replaces the existing magnifying glass icon on the search bar.

How to Use Google Search's Plus Button

Users only need to head to Google Search's landing page, google.com, to access the feature.

The Plus button icon could be seen at the leftmost part of the search bar, where the magnifying glass previously was, and it is now an interactive button that will let users choose from either "Upload image" or "Upload file."

For images, Google will read typical photo formats like PNG, JPG/JPEG, and WEBP. On the other hand, for files, it is limited to reading PDFs. This means that other files like DOC, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, EPUB, and more are not available for this feature.

For now, the Plus button is only available for the web version of Google Search and not yet on the iOS and Android apps. The feature works on the regular browser where users are signed in, as well as the logged-out version when browsing via Incognito or Private mode.

Plus Button Directly Launches AI Mode

Upon testing, using the Plus button or uploading files when the feature is already available on one's search bar will take users directly to AI Mode, with the Gemini-powered feature being the one to help them with their needs.

First, the feature will summarize what users have uploaded, and if it is for images, it will deliver information based on what it was able to find online. For files, AI Mode will analyze the file's content and offer a summary of what is available.

Users may then task AI Mode to help them find related information or improve their documents, depending on their needs.