Google is testing a floating AI search bar that works outside your browser window

Google is testing a feature that could fundamentally reshape the way desktop users navigate the web. The experiment involves a floating, keyboard-triggered search bar that operates entirely independently of any browser window, routing queries straight into Google's AI tools without requiring an additional click.

What Project Loom is and how it works

The feature, known internally as Project Loom, was surfaced via Chrome Canary — Google's experimental developer build — and represents a significant departure from the conventional browser experience. It detaches the familiar URL bar entirely from the Chrome application window.

Activated through a key combination, the tool summons a sleek search bar to the centre of the screen, functioning in a manner closely resembling Apple's Spotlight Search or Microsoft's PowerToys Run.

AI as the default, not an afterthought

The interface replaces the traditional search field with an "Ask anything" prompt, positioning Google's AI capabilities as the primary mode of interaction rather than a supplementary option tucked away in a side panel. Standard web-based searches remain available as before, but AI-assisted queries are now the default choice.

Google's developers have also embedded a "+" menu directly within the floating search window, considerably extending its functionality beyond simple search. From within the pop-up, users can upload images, analyse documents, and even generate artwork using artificial intelligence — all without launching separate applications.

The overarching ambition appears to be the consolidation of multiple stages of the research process — search, file inspection, and image creation — into a single overlay that sits atop the user's desktop.

How it differs from Microsoft Edge

The approach marks a clear distinction from a comparable feature found in Microsoft Edge's floating search bar, where AI services were treated as a separate add-on rather than an integrated continuation of the same search input.

Still experimental, with no confirmed release

The Everywhere Omnibox, as it has also been referred to, remains firmly in the experimental stage. It is currently accessible only via developer flags within Chrome Canary and has not been announced as part of any forthcoming release.

It is worth noting that experimental features introduced through Chrome Canary have previously been abandoned or substantially reworked before any official rollout, leaving the ultimate fate of Project Loom uncertain.