Jaque Silva | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Google on Wednesday announced that it is bringing more of its Gemini AI features to its Chrome browser, the latest in the company’s efforts to put its new-age tech front and center for users.
The Gemini-powered features include the image generation tool Nano Banana, Google’s “Personal Intelligence” feature and “Auto browse,” an agentic AI tool that lets users command the browser to perform various tasks across the web with a single prompt. Google is also introducing a new Chrome design that includes a panel on the right side of the browser that keeps the Gemini chatbot available as users surf the web.
Wednesday’s announcements mark the latest steps taken by Google to retrofit its browser with AI features. That’s key for the company as it competes against the likes of ChatGPT maker OpenAI and Claude developer Anthropic as browsers are the primary entry point for users to interact with AI services.
Additionally, the new features show how Google is trying to make its Chrome browser more personalized for users. Earlier this month, Google launched the personalized feature “Personal Intelligence” in the Gemini app. The feature connects information from apps like Gmail and Google Photos to provide users personalized answers in the Gemini chatbot.
“Chrome will remember context from past conversations so you get uniquely tailored answers to whatever you’re looking for across the web and you can already add specific instructions to Gemini to get more tailored responses,” wrote Parisa Tabriz, Chrome vice president, in a blog.
The updates also show the company is trying to realize Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis’s vision for building out a “universal assistant,” which he has defined as a helper that can plan and take actions on a user’s behalf across any device.
Demis Hassabis, CEO of DeepMind Technologies, speaks during CNBC’s Squawk Box at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 21, 2026.
Oscar Molina | CNBC
Google on Wednesday said AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in the U.S will get access to Auto browse. That agentic features are designed to allow users to ask the Gemini chatbot to perform actions like order groceries or research hotels and flights across multiple date options.
Users can ask Auto browse to “Go through my favorited apartments on Redfin and remove any that are not pet friendly,” the company said in its blog.
Google has been ramping up the addition of AI features to its browser since a U.S. district judge ruled in September against forcing the company to sell off Chrome as a consequence of being found to hold an illegal monopoly in the market of internet search. Google earlier this month filed to appeal the ruling that it holds a monopoly in search.
Shortly after the remedies ruling, the company in September updated Chrome to include more AI features that integrate Google apps like Calendar, YouTube and Maps so users can access those services without moving to a different webpage.
OpenAI launched its own browser in October. Atlas, as the browser is called, is built around OpenAI’s generative chatbot ChatGPT. The launch of Atlas sent shares of Google parent Alphabet down 2%.
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