Before we get into it, this is an experimental feature that the company is testing. There’s no guarantee that Google will make this an official feature. So, you’ll want to take this with a grain of salt.
Chrome may let you customize the side panel
This potential feature was discovered by Chrome Story, and it gives hope to people who want to have more control over the side panel. Right now, it’s pretty limited in what it can show. You have access to your bookmarks, Journies, reading list, and Feed. That’s not too bad, but people really want more functionality from it. If this feature does launch, then you’ll see a dropdown menu on the side panel that should let you choose what you want to add to the panel. Since this feature is in such an early stage, we don’t know what Google is planning on adding to the panel. Right now, the feature exists as a flag, and it’s not functional at the moment. If Google decides to let you customize the side panel in Chrome, it’d be nice to see some more useful tools. Imagine seeing your history in the panel for quick access or having a section for your recently closed tabs. Another useful section could show most of the most accessed Chrome settings. You’ll be able to change them then and there without needing to go through the menu. If we really want to stretch the imagination, here’s an idea: Google Workspace services in the side panel. Imagine seeing a feed of your recent emails in the side panel. Clicking one could display the actual email in the panel and, if you want to reply, it could open the full Gmail page in a new tab. What if you could see a list of your Google Tasks or your notes in Google Keep? There’s a lot of possibility of what you can do with the side panel in Chrome.
