The most used web browser on Earth is getting some important updates for its address bar. Today Google has announced five of them, and they are all meant to make your use of the address bar more efficient.
First, autocompletion has become smarter. Previously, Chrome would only autocomplete URLs in the address bar if you typed the beginning of one correctly. But now, starting on desktop, the address bar will autocomplete URLs based on any word you’ve previously used to search for a website. So, in Google’s example, if in the past you searched for “flights” and ended up on Google Flights, the browser will autocomplete the Google Flights URL when you search for “flights” again.
Another intriguing new feature is Chrome’s ability to suggest popular sites even if you’ve never visited them or mistyped the URL. The example Google gives is that a friend mentioned checking Google Earth, then you go to Chrome’s address bar and start typing “Google Earth” and it’s suggested in the dropdown.
The address bar now has automatic typo corrections, and this feature is pretty much self-explanatory. This is available today in Chrome on desktop, Android, and iOS.
Next up, you can now search within your bookmark folders right from the address bar, on desktop and mobile. You just need to include the folder name in the search, and you’ll get suggestions from that collection.
Finally, Google says the Chrome address bar is now easier to read, thanks to an improved visual layout, and it’s also more responsive, to be able to serve you faster results as soon as you start typing.
