You get some AI, and you get some AI, EVERYBODY GETS SOME AI!
That’s very much the theme of the latest update to the Google Chrome web browser, at least, if you use it, and you’re based in the United States.
Google’s self-proclaimed “biggest upgrade to Chrome in its history” is all about new AI features, as if it would be anything else. Not all of the features are available immediately, but with the integration of Gemini into Chrome, the foundations are being laid.
Gemini being natively added to the Chrome browser allows users to use it to interact directly with their web content from the toolbar.
Gemini will also be able to work across multiple tabs, interact with your browsing history to “recall” past activity, as well as let you interface with other Google suite apps, such as the calendar, or YouTube, without leaving your current tab.
Google’s also setting Gemini up to be an “agentic browser” to complete those “tedious tasks” on your behalf. Examples given are booking a haircut or ordering your groceries, neither of which I think I’d trust my web browser to do for me.
I rarely know what I want to eat day to day, how am I supposed to trust my web browser to handle the shopping?!
The address bar is also getting its own share of the AI love, with Google’s AI mode being integrated for search queries. This will be rolled out later on in the month, and will expand beyond the U.S. shortly after.
This particular feature, I just hope you can turn off. I don’t use AI mode in search, and I don’t want to. Some just flat out disagree with it, which is fine, but personally, I have a very specific workflow. If I’m doing research, I will tend to go towards Gemini. If I’m using web search, I’m typically looking for specifics that I don’t want AI interfering with.
One AI feature that I do see being handy is that it will suggest contextual questions to ask about the page you’re currently looking at. Not the typical “summarize this page” but an example given is prompting about warranty information when looking at a product. These type of suggestions could be really useful.
Chrome is also going to use AI to help block notifications and unwanted permissions. This I love, because in theory, it’ll learn my preferences (which are more often than not a big fat no) and just handle them on my behalf.
I may have sounded a little snarky at the top of this post, but on the whole, I think much of this will add value to the Chrome browser. I already use Chrome on my Windows PC and my Android phone, and Gemini has become my day-to-day AI assistant of choice.
Sure, Google is obviously trying to push more people to use Gemini, but that’s fine. Microsoft is doing its level best to do the same with Copilot being in literally every product, after all.
I spend a lot of time every day using Gemini for various tasks, from researching topics for work and personal development, to trying to figure out my next moves for my fantasy Premier League team. Having it in the toolbar versus having to open a dedicated tab will definitely improve my own workflow, and I’m sure plenty of others will fall into the same category.
I’m not ready for AI to do things Google classes as “tedious” like order things on my behalf, and so long as those that don’t want it can either ignore it or just turn it off, it is a meaningful upgrade to the browser that adds real value. Or it will be when I can eventually use it. You know, not being an American and all.
