Google Drive's filter chips are spreading to the search bar

Key Takeaways

• Google Drive's latest update now integrates filter chips directly into the search bar, making it easier to find files by type, people involved, or date modified.
• The new filters can show suggestions as you type and are rolling out to users gradually, with most expected to have access to the feature by October 22nd.
• While Google claims this feature helps users find files faster, the additional filters may be confusing for some, especially since similar filters already exist below the search bar.

Google Drive has gotten smarter over the past few updates, particularly with the array of Gemini features gradually rolling out. Meanwhile, the web version of Drive also gets updates from time to time, such as the handy search chips added in March last year. Now, Google is building on this feature and integrating some of these chips/filters inside the search bar, providing another way to filter files based on their type, the people involved, or the date it was modified.

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The announcement comes from the Workspace Updates Blog, with Google saying these newly added chips inside the search bar will also show filter suggestions as you type. So if the file you're looking for is a PDF or a Document, just type "pdf" or "doc" in the search field for their corresponding filters to appear. In addition to this particular filter, the search bar will also contain the familiar People and Modified filters.

Is it really 'faster'?

Source: Google

While Google says this is meant to help users "find relevant files even faster in Drive," we're not too sure if it achieves that. These filters in the Drive search bar can be somewhat confusing, too, especially given that filters to find files by Type, People, Modified, and Location already exist just below the search bar. The new filters are currently rolling out to some Drive users, though it will take until the 22nd of October to reach most users, as per Google.

Google also announced the wider rollout of summary cards in the Gmail app after detailing it earlier this week. Users will find a new card on top of their emails that contains information about upcoming package deliveries, events, future trips, and bills. I found it on my Android phone for an upcoming Amazon delivery, while Google says summary cards have already finished rolling out on iOS/iPadOS devices. The Gmail app for Android also picked up Gemini-based Smart Reply suggestions not too long ago, so the developers are clearly quite busy behind the scenes.