Google experiments with a plus button in the Search box that turns AI Mode into a file reader

A small plus icon has started appearing inside the Google Search box for some users, and it’s not just a visual tweak. When clicked, it opens up options to upload files and images directly from the homepage, feeding them straight into Google’s AI Mode for analysis.

The change was first noticed by a Reddit user who posted about it on the r/google subreddit, asking when it was added. According to discussions in the thread, clicking the plus button reveals upload options for both files and images. Google appears to be positioning this as a way to let its AI review PDFs, photos, and other documents right from the search bar instead of making users jump through extra hoops.

Not everyone has access to this button yet. Some users in the thread reported seeing it on Chrome while others couldn’t find it on different browsers. One user pointed out that it also showed up on Microsoft Edge, suggesting Google isn’t limiting this test to its own browser.

A few commenters seemed puzzled by the addition, while others found it “pretty intuitive” for anyone who wants AI to help break down documents or analyze images without switching to a separate tool.

This isn’t the only thing Google has been tweaking in AI Mode recently. The company is also testing hover-style inline links for citations in AI Mode results, as highlighed by SERPalerts on X.

The idea is to make it easier to see sources by hovering over link cards rather than clicking through. It’s part of Google’s effort to encourage more clicks on AI-generated answers.

On top of that, Google just expanded access to its Gemini 3 and Nano Banana Pro models in AI Mode to nearly 120 countries and territories in English, as reported by SE Roundtable. These models bring deeper reasoning and real-time info to AI Mode, though they’re currently limited to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.

For now, the plus button seems to be rolling out slowly as a small-scale experiment. Google hasn’t made any official announcements about it, and the rollout appears inconsistent across accounts and browsers. Whether this becomes a permanent fixture or disappears after testing remains to be seen, but it hints at where Google wants to take Search next.