"I'm Feeling Lucky" has been a core feature of Google Search since the company launched in 1998. Most of us, of course, choose the typical Search experience, scrolling through the various links until we find the URL we're looking for. But when you're feeling confident that your search query has a clear destination, I'm Feeling Lucky can direct you straight there.
I admit, I haven't used the button much through all my years of googling. Truth be told, I hardly ever go to google.com—once browsers integrated Google Search with the address bar, I began searching directly from there. But whenever I do find myself on Google's homepage, it's nice to see I always have the option—if I am, indeed, feeling lucky.
That might not be the case for much longer, however. As reported by The Verge, some Google users are missing the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button. In its place is something else entirely: AI Mode.
Google first introduced AI Mode back in March. Don't confuse this for AI Overviews, the AI-generated summary that appears at the top of some Google searches. Instead, AI Mode turns Google Search into a bit of a chatbot, allowing the user to ask multi-part questions in one go. The feature is meant to combine multiple searches into a single, complex query.
For example, you could ask AI Mode something like, "when is the best time to book a flight to Hawaii, and what should I pack for the trip?" You then get breakdowns of each question in your query—"Best Time to Book Flights," "Tips for Booking Flights," "Packing Essentials for Hawaii," with links to sources you can check yourself. If you've ever used an AI chatbot like Gemini or ChatGPT for web search, it's remarkably similar—down to the warning that "AI responses may include mistakes."
AI Mode is not rolling out in full yet (it seems to be available to Google Labs testers first) nor is it replacing I'm Feeling Lucky for all users who see it. On my personal Google Account, for example, I still see I'm Feeling Lucky. AI Mode just happens to be situated on the right-end of the search bar. But the fact that Google is experimenting with swapping the legacy button with yet another AI feature is disappointing.
There is some irony in replacing an I'm Feeling Lucky button with AI Mode: If you're relying on AI to do your search, you probably are feeling lucky, as AI systems can either make mistakes or make up facts altogether—as Google's disastrous AI Overviews rollout proved. In fact, as AI models advance, they're "hallucinating" more than ever, and no one really knows why.
Use AI to assist your web searches as you wish—just understand what you're getting yourself into.
