Google Chrome’s Tab Search button is moving

Avatar for Andrew Romero | May 19 2025 - 8:01 am PT
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Google Chrome

The Tab Search tool in Google Chrome – frequented by users with way too much RAM – is getting a new dedicated button. The tool lets Chrome users search open and closed tabs by keyword, making for an easier time sifting through active pages.

Tab Search has been a function in Chrome for a long time. It has always been an easy way to quickly navigate tabs when they become visually indistinguishable. Theprevious method for searching was through the downward-facing arrow key to the left of the “new tab” button. Familiar users would have no issue finding the function, but an arrow doesn’t exactly convey the right functionality.

In a new update to Google Chrome, the Tab Search feature gets a dedicated button in a new spot. We’re seeing the updated look in version136.0.7103.114.The button now lives in the toolbar, found next to the address bar and beyond the extension shortcuts. Google has been emphasizing the new toolbar by allowing for a plethora of new shortcuts.

When clicked, a search bar will appear with several different open tabs listed underneath. Below that, recently closed tabs will also appear. With that info combined, users can search for keywords in both categories, and the search isn’t limited to currently opened tabs.

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By default, Tab Search now appears in the toolbar, but it can be changed by right-clicking the shortcut and hitting “Toolbar settings.”

This comes as Chrome onAndroid has made a similaradjustment to Tab Search. The tool can be used via the tab grid page, where a simple search bar appears at the top.

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