Chrome is working on a side search panel for easier navigation

Good news for anyone who’s ever been intimidated of having to go back or open 10 new tabs while browsing your Google search results. According to 9to5 Google, it looks like a new side search feature is in the works.

You can see how it works in the demo video below. But in short, you can basically tap on the Google “G” logo located on the left side of the search bar. This will then open up a neat little side panel where you can scroll through the search results. Clicking on a link will then open the page in the main tab of the browser. The functionality is similar to that released for Chrome for Android. This version allows you to move search results to just under the address bar.

This is obviously a feature intended for the tab demons among us. While this might not seem like much use for casual users, it certainly comes in handy in situations where you’re researching a topic, writing reports, or just systematically browsing search results to find what you need. Having said that, it will probably be some time before the average joe can try this out.

The feature was spotted in Chrome Canary, Google’s web browser for developers and anyone with a taste for tech. As the name suggests, this is where Google releases all of the newest and shiny features which are then filtered to beta, stable, and developer versions of Chrome. In other words, while you get all the cool stuff, it’s not particularly stable.

As to when we could actually see it to see it? According to 9to5 Google, it will likely head for the stable Chrome in Chrome 96, which is slated for mid-November. Another question is whether the side panel search will be extended to other search engines. The sidebars aren’t particularly unique either. Other browsers, like Firefox, have had it for quite some time now, even though they were primarily intended for bookmarks.