For years, Google has leveraged its Chrome web browser to enhance the popularity of its products and services, particularly reinforcing its dominance in the search market. Now, it is adopting a similar approach in the field of artificial intelligence. Today, Google announced that it will introduce a range of new AI features to Chrome through its AI assistant Gemini. The company is elevating the prominence of AI-powered search tools, including a more conversational search mode, and integrating AI agents into the browser to allow users to delegate browsing tasks. In a blog post, Mike Torres, Vice President of Product for Chrome, explained that users will soon be able to activate AI mode directly from the browser's address bar. A new feature called the “Omnibox” will allow users to type queries or questions and receive conversational responses without leaving the current page. Google is also embedding the Gemini AI assistant into Chrome, enabling users to ask questions about the content they are viewing. Gemini can access all of the user's open tabs to provide relevant answers. Torres noted that this feature has existed for several months but was previously limited to paying users—it will now become available for free. Gemini can compare and summarize information from multiple tabs. For example, if someone is researching flights, hotels, and activities across different websites, they can ask Gemini to compile the data into a cohesive travel plan. According to Torres, Gemini will remember browsing history to better understand the context of user queries. He also mentioned that it will integrate Chrome with other Google services like YouTube and Google Calendar. Since its launch in 2008, Chrome has become the world's most popular browser, holding around 70% of the global market share, according to Statcounter. Google has used its browser dominance to maintain its edge in search—prompting users on new devices to set Google as the default search engine and collecting data to refine its search algorithms. This practice led Google into antitrust litigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, forcing the company to change its tactics, offer users a choice of default search engines, and share some search data with competitors. Nevertheless, Chrome’s strategy has clearly been effective, and Google appears to be applying a similar model to its AI offerings. By embedding Gemini into Chrome, the company can expand its AI market share, challenge competing chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and gather more insights into how people interact with AI.

Agent-Based Browsing Is on the Horizon

Gemini is already available in Chrome, but the most impactful new AI features won’t be ready for a few months. Torres revealed that Google plans to roll out an "agent browsing assistant" capable of autonomously completing various browser-related tasks. The Chrome agent will be able to perform actions such as filling a shopping cart on Amazon, drafting email replies, or copying and pasting data from websites into documents for easier access. The agent experience can run in the background, allowing users to assign tasks like online shopping while continuing with other activities in Chrome. However, if the agent requires clarification—such as a preferred jeans brand—it will pause to ask the user. Additionally, Torres said that the agent will seek confirmation before performing irreversible actions, such as sending a drafted email or checking out and paying for items on Amazon. It will ask for explicit user approval before proceeding. However, given that Google has just announced the development of a payment protocol named AP2 that could eventually allow AI agents to make pre-authorized payments on behalf of users, it remains to be seen whether such confirmation steps will remain in place. Google isn’t the first company to introduce browser agents. In fact, it's somewhat late to the game. OpenAI’s Operator and Anthropic PBC’s Claude for Chrome already offer similar autonomous browsing capabilities. These tools are still in early stages, so it's unclear how practical Google’s Chrome agent will ultimately be. In the case of OpenAI’s Operator, it still experiences frequent issues and lacks reliability. It’s also relatively slow and costly, locked behind a $200 monthly subscription with usage limitations due to high “token” consumption during autonomous browsing. Nonetheless, Google may have a competitive advantage by making its AI agent native to Chrome. Torres stated that the company has been closely monitoring competitors and aims to deliver a “more robust” product at launch. Notably, Google has been working on this for nearly a year, potentially giving it an edge. “Our hope is that when this feature reaches users, we’ve already resolved many of the potential issues,” he said. Google hasn’t yet disclosed whether the Chrome agent will be a paid feature, though a free offering would come as a surprise.