The Cluttered Toolbar
Google Chrome frequently introduces new features via a program called “Search Labs,” which tests generative AI (SGE) and other experimental search functions. To promote this, Google places a prominent, persistent icon (often shaped like a beaker or a colorful sparkle) in the top-right corner of the Chrome toolbar, right next to your profile picture and extensions. If you have no interest in participating in beta testing AI search features, or if you simply prefer a clean, minimalist browser interface, this bright, un-removable icon takes up valuable space and acts as a constant visual distraction.
Removing the Beaker Icon
To clean up your browser interface and disable the Search Labs icon completely in Google Chrome, you must dive into the browser’s hidden experimental flags menu, as there is no simple toggle in the standard settings.
Open a new tab in Google Chrome. Click into the main address bar, type exactly chrome://flags, and press Enter to load the experiments page. At the top of this page, you will see a search box. Type Search Labs into the search field. Look through the filtered results for a flag explicitly named Search Labs Design or Enable Search Labs icon (the exact name varies depending on the Chrome version). Click the dropdown menu located to the right of the relevant flag (which will likely be set to “Default”) and change the setting to Disabled. A blue button labelled Relaunch will appear at the bottom right corner of the window. Click it to restart Chrome. When the browser reopens, the Search Labs beaker icon will be permanently removed from your toolbar.