Google Search Widget Could Soon Get Customizable Shortcuts

Google Search is the core service around which many of the company’s other services are built. All Android users can configure a search widget powered by the Google app. Recent reports suggest that the company is working on adding customizable shortcuts to the current Google Search widget to make it even more functional.

Currently, the Google Search widget has a few permanent shortcuts. People can tap them to launch voice search and Google Lens. Tapping any other section of the widget will open the Google app. Still, there’s a lot of wasted space in the widget, and it looks like Google has noticed. As Android Authority noted, the company is testing a customizable third shortcut.

Google will add a customizable third shortcut to the search widget

According to the report, Google is conducting a test among some users of the latest beta version of the Google app. The attached screenshots show that the customizable shortcut in the Google Search widget appears in the form of a “plus” (+) icon. After tapping on it, you can directly access the “Customize” page of the widget. There, you will see the color and transparency options that were available recently. However, you will also see a new “Choose shortcut” section.

From there, you can set up a third shortcut that will appear alongside the classic Voice Search and Google Lens shortcuts. You can choose from five shortcuts: Translate (Text), Song Search, Weather, Translate (Camera), and Finance. You can also choose “None” if you don’t want an additional shortcut. You can’t remove or change the Voice Search and Google Lens shortcuts, as Google considers them essential elements of search.

That said, it looks like there’s still some work to do before the change is implemented. In its current form, the widget doesn’t save your selection for the additional shortcut. Hopefully, the shortcut customization for the Google Search widget will arrive before the end of the year.