Google’s integration of AI features into its Chrome browser this week shows how the vendor is turning the browser into an AI-powered assistant while driving the evolution of search.
The tech giant, which specializes in search, cloud, and AI services, launched a new side panel experience in Chrome on January 28 along with other AI features. With the new side panel, Gemini users can have a browsing assistant at their side to compare options, summarize product reviews, and find times for events.
Gemini users can also access nano banana From within Chrome. Google has also integrated Gmail, Calendar, YouTube, and Maps into Chrome so users can complete tasks in the browser. The Auto Browse tool lets AI Pro and Ultra customers navigate the web, book flights, and manage professional workflows, among other tasks.
The integration of AI features into Chrome exemplifies how agentic AI has evolved within the browsing and search experience. with traditional search model At risk, the rise of AI search engines like Perplexity means that search is much more than a way to find information. Instead, such devices computer use of anthropic And ChatGPIT Atlas points to a search and browsing experience that includes an AI agent as an autonomous assistant.
A hint for traditional search
While the new features integrated into Chrome are similar to computer usage and agentic features included in Atlas and even Anthropic’s most recent autonomous desktop agent, cloud peerGoogle’s Gemini in Chrome pays homage to the traditional browsing experience.
“This kind of functionality, which respects the existing interface we’ve come to know and love over the last 30 years, is a good thing,” said Bradley Shimmin, an analyst at Futurum Group. “It’s not just asking you to log into ChatGPT. Instead, go to the web, view the web, use the web and then take action wherever you are.”
Gemini in Chrome will look familiar to enterprise users as Gemini is already built into the Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) platform. People in the workplace are used to letting Gemini do things on their behalf. However, users of third-party email or calendar systems will still be able to use the AI features introduced in Chrome to direct Gemini to take actions for them. This represents a major step toward the use of autonomous devices within enterprises.
“We’ve been spending a lot of money over the last decade trying to automate business processes ranging from the simplest things to the most complex, and it’s proven to be very difficult and difficult,” Shimin said. “It shows a lot of potential because it’s adaptable to any workflow, any process.”
an obstacle
However, one challenge is that while Chrome includes security protections in Gemini, such as prompting to stop auto browse and asking for confirmation before completing certain tasks, it is not enough, Shimin continued.
“Procedural security is needed to protect things like we have in the enterprise Personal and private informationWhere you’re not putting it in the hands of the user to make sure they don’t expose companies’ secrets,” he said. “Instead you’re doing it in an auditable way, and we’re nowhere near this stuff.”
