Zach Adams Web Developer and Programmer

How to disable the new Chrome Side Search Panel feature

August 9, 2023

A very annoying new “feature” added by Chrome in recent versions is adding search results to their new side-panel companion, including overriding the default behavior of the right-click contextual “Search Google for” on text selection. As far as I’m aware you’re currently only able to disable it using flags, here’s how to do it:

  1. Type chrome://flags/ in your Chrome browser URL bar and press enter
  2. Search & Disable all of the following flags (different flags appear in different versions of Chrome):
    1. Set Side search to Disabled
    2. Set Search web in side panel to Disabled
    3. Set CSC to Disabled
  3. Relaunch Chrome

I’m not sure what the CSC flag does exactly, it’s left without a description in the flag list, however in some versions of Chrome it overrides the other two flags so it must be set to disabled as well. I was directed to it in this Chromium issue thread, I believe it’s short for “Chrome Search Companion”.