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Gemini, Google's AI assistant, is coming to Chrome, bringing new summarization and research capabilities all without ever having to open a separate app or web page, the company announced at its Google I/O developer conference on Tuesday.
The update will begin rolling out on Wednesday to English users who are at least 18 years old, but is limited to those on a $20 per month Google AI Pro or the $250 per month Google AI Ultra subscription, as well as Chrome Beta, Dev and Canary users.
At the top-right corner of your Chrome browser will be a new Gemini icon. Clicking it will open up a tiny chat window where Gemini will live. Depending on which Chrome tab you have open, Gemini will be able to read and understand the context of that web page and answer questions for you. For example, if you have a Best Buy web page open for the new Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones, you can ask Gemini whether these headphones are good for gaming and ask it to compare it to competing products. Gemini can also understand different contexts, Google says. For example, if you have a comic strip open and don't understand the punchline, Gemini can examine the comic and explain the joke.
Other examples of Gemini in Chrome include a personal tutor in which Gemini can teach you or quiz you on complex material or a cooking assistant that can analyze a recipe and help you make it gluten-free.
The latest additions to Chrome come as Google is weaving AI into its entire product portfolio. An AI race is raging between Google and the Microsoft-bankrolled OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT. While Google Search is still by far the most popular way people find information online, ChatGPT is growing rapidly, with 400 million weekly active users -- by comparison, Google's AI Overviews in search have more than 1.5 billion users, according to the company's Q1 earnings report.
In the world of tech, early adoption is key. The sooner companies can get users accustomed to their software, the greater likelihood they'll stick around for a long time. That's why both Google and OpenAI are expanding their lineup of free tools, like the Gemini coding assistant or ChatGPT's new shopping experience. Considering the AI market could be worth more than $826 billion by 2030, according to Statista, companies that win these battles early have a greater chance of winning the AI war.
Google also teased some future enhancements to Gemini in Chrome, like being able to analyze multiple tabs at once, preventing you from having to copy and paste information over. Another handy feature coming later is the ability to navigate a webpage with your voice. So, if your hands are covered in flour when trying to bake, you can ask Gemini to scroll down on a webpage to see the rest of a recipe's steps.
