Now that it's looking like Chrome will remain in the Google fold, the browser is undergoing a Gemini-infused rebirth. Google claims the browser will see its most significant upgrade ever in the next few weeks as AI permeates every part of the experience. For people who use AI tools, some of these additions might actually be helpful, and for everyone else, well, Firefox still exists.
The most prominent change, and one that AI subscribers may have already seen, is the addition of a Gemini button on the desktop browser. This button opens a popup where you can ask questions about—and get summaries of—content in your open tabs. Android phones already have Gemini operating at the system level to accomplish similar tasks, but Google says the iOS Gemini app will soon be built into Chrome for Apple devices.
Gemini isn't limited to your current tab. Google aims to make it possible to interact with other apps and tabs without leaving the current screen. When you invoke Gemini in Chrome, it can work with the content in all your open tabs, and it has connections to Google products like Calendar and YouTube. It can also find links in your history based on a vague remembrance.
AI mode is also moving closer to becoming Google's default way to search the web. The updated Chrome now lets you begin AI Mode searches from the omnibar. There's a button to press if you want AI Mode, but it would be quite easy to swap in AI Mode for traditional searches in the browser. The omnibox will also gain "ask about this page" functionality. Chrome can suggest these questions (in English only for now) and show the answer in a side panel. The answer will, naturally, lead off with an AI Overview, and you can ask follow-up questions in AI Mode.
Google says it's also using AI to shore up Chrome's security. Gemini tools can already identify common tech support scams. An updated Gemini Nano model will be deployed that expands those detection features to spot fake virus alerts and phony giveaways. Chrome's password manager already tells you about compromised passwords, but with its AI overhaul, it can also automatically change them for you with one click. Although, it seems like that could easily go wrong.
An agentic future
Most of the browser's new AI features are things we've seen in testing or early access, and they'll be fully rolled out to Chrome users in the coming weeks. Chrome's next trick will take a bit longer. Later this year, Google says it will add agentic control to Chrome.
We've seen a few of these "usage agents" over the past year, including OpenAI's Operator and Anthropic's Claude for Chrome. These systems can theoretically control your computer's cursor to complete tasks on your behalf. Google suggests tedious or repetitive things like scheduling a haircut or ordering groceries as a good job for the Chrome agent. Just type your request and watch it go (sort of). Here's a demo from Google.
So far, usage agents have faced two significant issues: They're slow and expensive. These are generative AI systems, so they won't perform perfectly even as they chew through a mountain of costly tokens. OpenAI Operator is only available for limited use on the $200-per-month subscription, and Anthropic's agent may rack up a few dollars in API charges for completing a simple action like visiting a handful of webpages.
We don't yet know how reliable or fast Google's Chrome agent will be, nor is there any word on additional cost. Google's blog post doesn't even mention restricting this feature to those with subscriptions, but it does have murky limits on many of its AI tools. We've reached out to Google for clarification on this point.
Google's agentic browsing assistant may not be any better than what you can get from the competition, but the prevalence of Chrome will get the technology in front of many more people. But will it really be everyone? This company is no stranger to burning money to gain a foothold in AI, but allowing billions of people to tinker with an expensive computer-use model might be a tough sell even for Google.
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