Google AI Updates: April 17, 2026

1. AI Mode in Chrome Adds Side-by-Side Browsing and Multi-Source Search

Google. Chrome users in the US can now click links that open webpages next to AI Mode rather than replacing it, so follow-up questions keep the original search context. A new plus menu on desktop and mobile lets users add multiple recent tabs, images, and PDFs to a single query, and Canvas plus image creation tools are now accessible through the same menu. Expansion to additional regions is planned. The feature directly addresses the “tab hopping” friction that previously made AI-assisted research on the desktop awkward. Source