Google today announced three new AI features that are coming to its Chrome browser, with Google taking advantage of the latest Google AI and Gemini models.
Google Lens is now available for the Chrome desktop browser, allowing users to search for what they see on the browser screen with a quick drag and search gesture. Google says that Chrome users can select anything on the page to search for visual matches, including text and images.
Searches can be refined by color, brand, and other details, and follow up questions are available for a deeper dive into a topic.
Tab compare is a new feature that is designed to let users see an AI-generated overview of products from across multiple tabs in one spot. Google says that this is useful for comparing reviews, prices, and other elements of multiple products when deciding what to purchase.
Google is also introducing a natural language search option for Chrome browsing history, allowing Chrome users to quickly find a site that they visited in the past with a phrase like "What was that ice cream shop I looked at last week?" Conversational search is optional, and can be turned on or off in the Chrome settings. It will not include data from incognito mode.
The AI-powered Google Lens feature will be available with the latest Chrome update that's rolling out over the next few days, while the other two features will be available in the next few weeks. Tab compare and the browser search option will both be rolled out in the U.S. to begin with.
Top Rated Comments
There was a brief time when Edge was possibly the best overall browser. Right between when they first forked it from Google and took all the Google stuff out, but before they started cramming all the Microsoft stuff in worse than Google ever did. They just couldn't resist.
Apple doesn't do this because they don't have to use a web browser as their platform. Microsoft doesn't even feel confident enough in Windows to be that anymore, they are basing it on Edge and Teams and "Microsoft 365."
The main reason Google is doing specifically this is yet more ad money. They specifically talk about shopping comparisons. They talk a lot about that these days. Let's hope Apple's services leanings don't push them in that direction. It's the same thing that junked up Edge.