Apple’s Spotlight just got a serious rival on the desktop: Google’s experimental Search app for Windows — and if Google brings Gemini-style AI to macOS, Apple’s search and assistant strategy could face a full-scale disruption that goes beyond a neat feature war into the fundamentals of how...
Google has quietly moved search closer to the Windows desktop with a new experimental app that surfaces web results, Google Drive documents, installed applications, and files on your PC from a single floating search bar — all summonable with a simple Alt + Space shortcut. Background
The new...
ai mode
alt-space
cloud integration
desktop search
drive integration
google
google app for windows
google lens
local search
privacy
productivity
spotlightspotlight like search
unified search
visual search
Google has quietly moved search from the browser to the desktop with an experimental new app for Windows that brings a Spotlight‑style search bar, Google Lens integration, and an “AI Mode” for conversational answers — and it’s already available to a small group of U.S. users via Google’s Search...
ai mode
alt-space
desktop search
drive integration
enterprise
google
google lens
local search
privacy
productivity
search
search labs
spotlight
unified search
windows
Google’s new experimental desktop app for Windows drops a compact, Spotlight‑style search overlay onto the PC and promises to unite local files, installed apps, Google Drive documents, and the web — all reachable with a quick Alt + Space keystroke — while folding in Google Lens and an optional...
ai mode
alt key
alt-space
desktop search
enterprise
google
google app for windows
google drive
google lens
lens
multimodal ai
privacy
search labs
spotlightspotlight like search
windows
windows 10
windows 11
Google’s new Windows app is the kind of small, focused product that puts a bright, uncomfortable spotlight on what Microsoft hasn’t delivered: a fast, reliable, keyboard-first search experience that just finds what you need on a PC. The app — an experimental, summonable overlay you open with Alt...
ai mode
alt-space
cloud search
command palette
desktop search
enterprise readiness
google app for windows
google lens
local indexing
overlay-search
powertoys
privacy telemetry
productivity
search
spotlight
unified results
windows
Google has quietly dropped an experimental, Spotlight‑style search app for Windows that aims to make web, cloud and local file search a single keystroke away — summoned by Alt + Space by default — and bundled with integrated Google Lens and an optional AI Mode powered by Google’s generative...
ai mode
alt-space
desktop search
enterprise
google
google drive
google lens
google search labs windows
local search
multimodal ai
multimodal search
privacy
search labs
spotlightspotlight like search
unified results
visual search
windows 10
Google is quietly rolling a new Windows-native search experience into its Labs program that brings the company’s web search, Google Lens, and its AI-powered AI Mode onto the desktop — reachable instantly with an Alt + Space hotkey and designed to search your local files, installed apps, Google...
ai mode
alt-space
desktop search
drive
enterprise
google
google drive
google lens
labs
lens
local files
local search
multimodal ai
multimodal search
privacy
productivity
search
search labs
security
shortcuts
spotlight
unified search
windows
Google has quietly placed a Spotlight‑style search overlay on the Windows desktop, and this experimental app — available through Google’s Search Labs — promises to bring unified local, Drive, and web search plus Google Lens and AI Mode to a single, summonable interface reached with the Alt +...
accessibility
ai mode
alt-space
drive
enterprise
google
google lens
labs
local search
multimodal ai
privacy
productivity
search
search labs
spotlight
telemetry
windows
Google’s experimental Windows app drops a summonable, Spotlight‑style search bar onto the desktop that promises to surface local files, installed apps, Google Drive content, and web results — and it folds Google Lens and the company’s AI Mode into a single, keyboard‑first interface invoked by...
ai mode
alt-space
desktop search
enterprise privacy
google
google drive
google drive integration
google lens
local and server processing
powertoys
search labs
spotlight
unified search
windows
windows apps
Google has quietly begun testing a new desktop search experience for Windows that looks and feels like macOS Spotlight but with Google’s distinctive multimodal and generative-AI capabilities layered on top, bringing web search, Google Drive, local files, installed apps, and Google Lens into a...
ai
ai mode
alt-space
cross-platform
desktop search
enterprise
google
google drive
google lens
installed apps
local files
multimodal ai
privacy
productivity
search
search labs
security
spotlight
ux design
windows
Google has quietly brought a Spotlight‑style search overlay to Windows, launching an experimental Google app that lets you summon a floating search bar with Alt + Space to query the web, local files, installed apps and Google Drive — and it combines that with built‑in Google Lens and Google’s...
ai mode
alt key
alt-space
desktop
drive
enterprise
google
google app for windows
integration
labs
lens
local search
multimodal ai
privacy
productivity
search
spotlightspotlight like search
telemetry
windows
Google’s experimental Google app for Windows lands as a compact, Spotlight‑style overlay that promises to unify web search, local file search, Google Drive access, Google Lens visual queries and a conversational AI Mode — all summoned from anywhere on the desktop with the Alt + Space hotkey...
ai mode
alt space shortcut
alt-space
desktop search
enterprise
google
google app for windows
google drive integration
google gemini
google lens
lab-testing
lens
local and web search
multimodal ai
privacy
productivity
search
spotlight
windows
windows spotlight
Google’s experimental Windows app aims to remove the friction of switching windows to look something up — a floating, Spotlight‑like search bar you summon with Alt + Space that can search local files, installed apps, Google Drive, and the web, and that folds in Google Lens and the company’s AI...
accessibility
admin controls
ai assistant
ai mode
ai-powered launcher
alt key
alt space launcher
alt-space
app
app-experiment
beta
closed source
cloud ai
cloud search
command palette
cross surface search
cross-platform
dark mode
dataflow
desktop
desktop apps
desktop search
drive
drive integration
end users
enterprise
enterprise it
enterprise privacy
enterprise readiness
everything vs google
experiment
file search
generative ai
google
google app for windows
google apps
google drive
google drive integration
google gemini
google lens
governance
installed apps
integration
it admin
keyboard
keyboard launcher
lab-testing
labs
launcher
launcher overlay
lens
lens integration
lens ocr
lens-capture
local and cloud search
local and web search
local files
local indexing
local search
local-and-web
microsoft copilot
multimodal ai
multimodal search
ocr
open source
opt-in
os integration
os search ux
overlay
overlay launcher
performance
permissions
power users
powertoys
privacy
productivity
productivity tools
screen capture lens
search
search ecosystem
search labs
security
shell
shortcuts
spotlightspotlight like search
spotlight-like launcher
start menu
telemetry
translation
unified results
unified search
user interface
ux design
visual search
web results
web search integration
windows
windows 10
windows 10+
windows 11
windows apps
windows search
windows ux
windows-labs
workflow
workspace
The Windows 11 Desktop in the 25H2 era is familiar territory with a careful polish: it behaves like Windows 10’s Desktop in the essentials, but Microsoft has refreshed iconography, simplified the right‑click context menus, added a daily Windows Spotlight wallpaper with a “Learn about this...
contentdeliverymanager
context menu
desktop
desktop icons
enterprise
explorerpatcher
file explorer
icon settings
it pros
onedrive
personalization
power users
recycle bin
registry
show desktop
spotlight
themes
windows 11
windows spotlight
PowerToys 0.93 nudges an already indispensable toolkit toward something more professional: a Windows 11–style settings dashboard, a major engineering overhaul of Command Palette that leans on Ahead‑of‑Time (AOT) compilation for tangible speed and footprint gains, a presentation‑ready Spotlight...
I love "learn about this picture" with each windows update my icon disappears!!! Via a we web search I downloaded a file and did a registry edit. Most recent Windows Update installed and no icon again. Is there a way to protect the icon and spotlight feature from being removed from my pc...
Amid an era defined by intensifying scrutiny over digital privacy, the revelation of a critical macOS security flaw—publicly detailed by Microsoft and rapidly remediated by Apple—has thrust AI-integrated operating systems firmly back into the cybersecurity spotlight. For Windows users watching...
Apple’s WWDC 2025 keynote was expectedly brimming with new AI-powered features, ambitious design updates, and a renewed push to position the Mac as the definitive productivity machine for creative professionals and everyday users alike. Yet, for many in the trenches of digital content...
Here’s a summary of the new scrollable and customizable Start menu for Windows 11 according to the latest available updates:
Key Features:
Larger, Scrollable Start Menu: Users can now see all apps at the top level in a scrollable list—eliminating the need to move between pages to find apps...
accessibility
adaptive design
customization
desktop customization
gaming
insider preview
large screen ui
lock screen widgets
microsoft
phone integration
productivity
scroll menu
spotlight
start menu
tech news
ui update
user experience
widgets
windows 11
windows update
When it comes to productivity on the desktop, search is critical. For Mac users, Spotlight has set the gold standard—it's fast, straightforward, and blends local results with system-wide context. But for many Windows users, the built-in search tool in Windows 11 has long felt like an...