What you need to know
- Google is detailing a few AI features Chrome users on desktop can expect over the next few weeks.
- Such features include the debut of Google Lens in Chrome on computers, adding visual search abilities, follow-up questions, and multisearch.
- Chrome on desktop also picks up “Tab Compare” when searching for multiple products and conversational AI for rediscovering your browsing history.
Google has developed a few new AI tools for Chrome, arriving for users today (August 1) in a big way.
In a press release, the company states that Chrome on desktop is picking up three new AI features, beginning with Google Lens on desktop. Those same capabilities we’re used to on our Android phones will hit computers via a Lens icon in the address bar.
Google states users can click the icon, which will attach a mini Lens icon to their mouse. You then “click and drag” over an area on your display to have Lens run a visual search. The search begins immediately after finishing your area highlight. Chrome will display relevant search results in a new side panel to the right.
Those on Android will be familiar with multisearch, another feature desktop users won’t miss out on. Google adds that after the initial query is run, users can click the text bar at the top of the results panel to add more. Users can refine the search by color, brand, or other details. Moreover, you can toss in a follow-up question to keep Chrome’s AI going.
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Lens in Chrome on desktop also lets you highlight text in a video to “quickly get a description in the side panel.” Discovering new merchandise like backpacks or dresses is also possible by simply highlighting the object and letting the AI do its thing.
This feature will begin rolling out “over the next few days.”
“Tab Compare” is another new AI-backed feature for Chrome that lets users see a quick AI-generated product comparison using your tabs. Google states that when users are browsing different devices (say, foldables or Bluetooth speakers) switching tabs is often the norm. However, Tab Compare will collect the information you have spread across those tabs and Chrome is said to “suggest” that users open this AI-generated comparison to save time.
The comparison page will display the name of each product you’ve got open in your tabs alongside pricing, reviews, and other technical specs.
The “next few weeks” will bring this feature to all desktop Chrome users.
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Chrome’s final AI feature feels reminiscent of Gemini as the company plugs in more conversational software to rediscover your history. Soon, users can ask Chrome a question about a previous site they’ve visited. Chrome will then display in its address bar “Search History” with a magnifying glass and a classic Google AI star, indicating the conversational AI’s presence.
From there, Chrome’s drop-down menu will pull information from your browsing history to show website links that might solve your query. Google states that this feature is optional and users can enable or disable it via the settings. More importantly, those rolling in incognito mode will never have sites visited appear when using this AI search.
Chrome’s AI history search will begin rolling out to U.S. users “in the coming weeks.”