Google is about to stop feeling lucky.

Google is forced to change under pressure from AI tools. Photo: Reuters .

The world's largest search company plans to change its website interface. Specifically, the AI Mode feature will replace the "I'm Feeling Lucky" widget located below the search bar, next to the "Google Search" button.

Although not yet widely available, the feature is placed in a location on the interface that CNBC describes as "Google rarely changes," "its most valuable real estate." This shows the company is very serious about integrating AI into its core search experience, amidst competitive pressure in the AI-driven search landscape.

This feature has begun rolling out to some users over the past week, a Google spokesperson confirmed. The spokesperson also stated that the company is testing the new feature through its "Labs," a testing unit for registered users. However, not all features will be officially rolled out.

The interface of Google's new app mode. Photo: CNBC .

Investors in Alphabet, Google's parent company, began raising concerns since ChatGPT launched in November 2022. They argued that OpenAI could gain market share in the search sector by offering users new ways to look up information online.

In October 2024, OpenAI launched “ChatGPT Search,” positioning itself to compete more directly with search engines like Google, Bing, and Perplexity. Microsoft has invested nearly $14 billion in OpenAI; however, ChatGPT directly competes with Microsoft's own AI and search tools, such as Copilot and Bing.

Meanwhile, Gemini, Alphabet's flagship AI product, has shown performance on par with or exceeding that of its leading competitors. According to an internal analysis, Gemini AI currently has approximately 35 million daily active users, compared to ChatGPT's estimated 160 million.

According to Statcounter , Google's global search traffic market share has decreased by approximately 2% year-on-year, from 93% in March 2023 to 89.71% in the same period of 2025. Apple's senior vice president of services, Eddy Cue, stated on May 7th that Google searches via the Safari browser saw their first-ever decline in April.

Commenting on this, Ming-Chi Kuo, a veteran Apple analyst, argues that the idea that AI generation won't impact Google's advertising business is a mistake. "AI generation service providers haven't yet deployed advertising, so Google Ads remains the best option," Kuo wrote.

According to a CNBC report, Google began testing internal homepage designs in 2023. One potential design at the time included displaying five suggested questions below the main search bar, replacing the current “I’m Feeling Lucky” button. Google also tested a small chat icon to the right of the search bar.

In March, Google announced it would begin testing AI Mode with a select group of users. However, the initial description indicated the feature would be tested on the search results page, not the homepage. The company called it an experiment aimed at providing “advanced reasoning, thinking, and multimedia processing capabilities to help you answer even the most challenging questions.”