Google Brings Gemini to Chrome, Escalating AI Browser Challenge

Gemini goes free and integrates deeply with Chrome: Google aims to transform the browser into a personal assistant capable of acting across tabs, services and devices, while competition with OpenAI, Anthropic and Perplexity grows.

The integration between artificial intelligence and web browsing is becoming ever deeper: starting today, Google is distributing Gemini in Chrome without requiring any subscription, marking an important step in the battle of AI-powered browsers, where OpenAI, Anthropic, Perplexity and other players are already active.

The rollout is starting in the United States for Mac and Windows, but Mountain View's goal is clear: to transform the world's most popular browser into a personal assistant capable not only of providing answers, but of taking action. Within the next few months, Gemini will be able to handle "boring tasks" like making restaurant reservations, rescheduling deliveries, scheduling appointments, or shopping online from a list found in the user's email inbox. A checkpoint system will ensure that actions deemed high-risk or irreversible aren't completed without user confirmation.

Some features will arrive much sooner. Gemini in Chrome immediately gains access to Google Workspace for both standard and Enterprise profiles, with progressive integration also for other services like Calendar, YouTube, and Maps. It's not just about finding information on the screen, but also about acting directly on open content in real time.

On the desktop, the AI ​​assistant will be able to work across multiple open tabs, compare products, summarize information, and even remember pages you've already visited, allowing you to close tabs without fear of losing their content. "If you were looking for team-building activities and want to continue searching the next day, just ask Gemini and it will automatically bring you the same pages," explained Charmaine D'Silva, director of product management at Chrome.

On mobile, Android strengthens existing integration by allowing users to share the entire context of a page with Gemini, while on iPhone, the feature will soon be available via the Chrome app. The battleground is widening. After moves by Anthropic with Computer Use, OpenAI with Operator and ChatGPT Agent, and Perplexity with the Comet browser, Google is aiming to consolidate its ecosystem. The move comes in a rapidly developing market, where even Atlassian has invested $610 million to acquire The Browser Company, developer of the AI-first Arc browser.