Google’s Chrome browser is leaning towards AI in a big way. Instead of just pushing a bard sidebar into the browser, Google is introducing some features that tap into its models to hopefully make your browser a little more pleasant to use. They’re launching today in experimental mode (you can go to Settings and turn on “Experimental AI” to get them), and Google says they’re just the beginning of the AI browser takeover.
Chrome’s new tab organizer feature is the coolest: you can right-click on a Chrome tab and select “Organize Similar Tabs,” and Chrome will group a tab full of similar items. Will try to make. If you’re shopping for something, diving deep into an esoteric article, or just opening all your news tabs at once, Chrome will try to keep it all together. Chrome’s tab groups are generally an underrated feature—they’re a helpful way to keep your stuff organized, but they take some work to set up. It just automates it all.
The Chrome Theme Store is also getting an AI upgrade: you’ll be able to pick an image, a style, a color, and a few other things, and Chrome will automatically generate a matching browser theme. Google says it’s using the same text-to-image model that powers Android’s generative wallpapers, which in my experience are sometimes weird but mostly pretty cool.
A third new AI feature in Chrome, coming next month, is also a good sign of what’s to come for the browser. Google is adding its “Help Me Write” feature to every site on the web. You right-click on any text box anywhere, select Features, and Google’s AI will ask you what you want to write and then create a first draft for you. Google suggests that you can use “Help me write” to write reviews and emails or RSVPs to parties.
This kind of web-wide AI integration is why Chrome could be a powerful place for Google to integrate its Gemini model, Bard Assistant, and the rest of its nascent AI tools. Google’s search engine is already like a layer on top of the Internet. The company clearly wants its AI to work the same way to help you not only find things, but also interact with them and create more things. We’re already seeing this in features like Chrome’s article summary, and we’re going to see more of it soon.
If anything, Google is late to the party here. Microsoft has been bundling similar AI features into Edge since last year, and smaller players like Arch and Opera are also adding their own AI integrations. Chatbots may be the hot new AI app right now, but the browser is one place where developers can integrate and access virtually everything.
Google’s blog post announcing the new Chrome features says there’s more to come, including plans to integrate the new Gemini model “to help you browse even easier and faster.” ” Bard may not be a sidebar yet, but don’t be surprised to see AI in every tab.