The Hijacked Search Experience
Google Chrome occasionally experiments with new ways to present search data. One such feature involves hijacking the right-click context menu. When you highlight a word on a webpage, right-click, and select “Search Google for [word]”, older versions of Chrome would immediately open a brand-new tab displaying the full Google Search results. However, newer versions often default to opening a cramped “Side Panel” on the right edge of your current tab, displaying a condensed, mobile-style version of the search results. Many users find this Side Panel experience claustrophobic, difficult to read, and vastly inferior to the classic full-tab search.
Restoring the Full-Tab Search
To stop Chrome from aggressively forcing search queries into the right-hand panel and restore the classic behavior of opening a new, dedicated search tab, you must modify a specific browser flag.
Open a new tab in your Google Chrome browser. Click inside the address bar, type exactly chrome://flags, and press Enter to access the advanced configuration dashboard. In the search box located at the top of the screen, type Search web in side panel. Locate the specific flag bearing that exact name. Click the dropdown menu located to its right, which will likely be set to “Default.” Change this setting to Disabled. A blue “Relaunch” button will appear at the bottom of the window; click it to restart Chrome. The next time you highlight text and right-click to search, Chrome will completely ignore the Side Panel and immediately blast you into a full-screen, easily readable Google Search tab.