Jeff Chiu / AP Photo
- Google said it will roll out a raft of changes to Chrome, turning it into an AI-first browser.
- Chrome is a key part of Google’s search business and the leading browser on the market.
- The changes, which include a new AI agent, fit into a broader shift happening with Google Search.
For years, Google has used its Chrome browser to expand and retain its dominance in search. Now, it wants to do the same for AI.
The company announced on Thursday that it plans to supercharge its Chrome browser with a raft of new AI features, including AI agents that will complete tasks for you, as it transitions one of its key products for the AI era.
Google is also putting AI Mode — its more conversational take on traditional Google Search — right into the address bar via something it’s calling the “omnibox.” This will allow users to run searches in AI Mode without leaving the page they’re on.
The updates fit into a broader shift happening at Google, which is transforming its search business into one led by AI. In a blog post announcing the new updates, Google Chrome vice president Parisa Tabriz described the changes as “fundamentally changing the nature of browsing.”
Google will also put its Gemini AI assistant right into the browser. You can ask it questions, and it can see everything on the page as well as the content in other browser tabs. Google made this feature available earlier this year for paid subscribers, but now it will be available for free.
Google says Gemini will also remember past web pages you’ve visited and integrate with several of the company’s other services, such as YouTube and Google Calendar.
Released in 2008, Google Chrome has grown into a crucial surface for the company’s Search business. Holding around 70% of the global browser market share, per Statcounter, Chrome is by far the leading browser. It also became a focal point of the recent antitrust suit brought against Google by the Justice Department, which proposed the company be forced to divest its browser business — something the judge ultimately decided not to do.
Chrome helps Google not just point more users to Search, but soak up that crucial data that helps it improve its search engine. By putting its core AI features, such as AI Overviews, into the browser, Google has an opportunity to create a similar flywheel for its AI products.
AI agents come to the browser
Perhaps the most intriguing update announced by Google this week is one that won’t be immediately available. The company promises it will roll out soon.
There’s been much buzz about AI agents, which, in theory, can complete all sorts of tasks autonomously. Google will debut its own agent in Chrome, which the company says can do things such as fill an Amazon shopping basket, write an email, or copy and paste information from one webpage to a document.
Google teased its AI agent experience last year under the name “Project Mariner.” It’s come a long way since. For example, it can now work in the background, so you can get on with other tasks as it gets busy writing that email or filling your Amazon shopping cart. It will, however, interrupt you if it needs to clarify something — say, whether Braeburn or Pink Lady is your apple of choice.
The agent will also stop before what Google considers an “irreversible” action, said Google Chrome product director Charmaine D’Silva during a press roundtable on Wednesday. That means not checking out on Amazon or hitting “send” on the email without your explicit approval.
“The nice part about it happening locally is that we are able to ask clarifying questions and hand it over seamlessly to the user, too,” said D’Silva.
OpenAI launched a similar feature this year called ChatGPT Agent, but it’s in its infancy, prone to glitches, and not entirely reliable. Google is watching its AI rivals closely and says it wants its AI agent to be more robust when it launches.
“Our hope, by the time this gets to users, is that we’ve done away with many of those potential snafus,” said Mike Torres, Google Chrome’s VP of Product.
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