The Google app on Android has gone through numerous changes over the past year, now offering a Discover section to bring you the latest news and Updates section to serve you relevant info. This section also makes the Google Assistant and Google Lens accessible to users. However, Google wants these features to be more easily accessible to users and is bringing them to the Search widget.
The search widget has mostly remained unchanged, except for it being turned into a pill some years back and its placement switched to the very bottom. Google has now put a Google Assistant icon on the search bar and sometimes you can expect to see animated Doodles on the same too.