Firefox’s sidebar is one of many experimental methods that browser makers are using to find a new format for the AI era.
Is it convenient to be able to use generative AI right from a browser’s search bar? Many browser companies are betting the answer is yes, with proprietary browser solutions potentially taking up Google’s real estate as the default destination when you ask a question in the address bar.
We spoke to Ajit Varma, vice president of Firefox product at Mozilla, about the evolving nature of browsing and what’s next for browsers in the age of AI.
“Should a browser even be called a browser” once it carries out tasks with AI? Varma asked. Some browser makers say it shouldn’t.
AI chatbots change how browsers interact with web searches
As in every other aspect of technology, browsers increasingly feature some kind of generative AI interaction. In response to demand, Firefox added a sidebar with an AI chatbot from the user’s choice of provider; it integrates with ChatGPT, Perplexity, Anthropic, and others. Users also regularly engage with summarization and translation features, Varma said.
Firefox is known for focusing on privacy, including blocking many third-party trackers by default. So, what about having to share queries with AI companies? Varma compared using AI on a browser to Firefox’s Private mode — a different set of tabs that users can choose if they want to share information with AI.
“One of the challenges that you see with a lot of the big tech companies is that they oftentimes will have like this ulterior agenda because, you know, AI is hot, and they want to preference their own AIs or their own solutions and that just has some ramifications to users,” said Varma. “Whereas in an open and transparent approach that we have, people will have the agency to bring what’s right for them to Firefox.”
So what’s next after Firefox’s chatbot panel and its smart tabs sorted by AI? In the next six to nine months, Firefox is working on AI tools to input information (autofill, content creation) and to automate repetitive tasks such as refreshing pages or consuming content more deeply.
“If you’re looking at a page and you have more questions about it or you want to do deeper research about it, or you have questions about the history of what you’ve seen or looking at your context window, this is where a browser is just uniquely positioned,” said Varma, “because it just has a lot of data that if the user chooses to opt in, then we could basically help them be a little more productive.”
Gen Z sees AI as ‘a starting point’
Gen Z may already see AI-enhanced browsing as a natural way to interact with a computer, and browser companies are experimenting with how to approach that. Earlier this month, The Browser Company’s CEO Josh Miller predicted the AI era will introduce the “Internet Computer,” a seamless mix of browsers and generative AI tools.
“Traditional browsers were built to load webpages,” Miller wrote in a blog post. “But increasingly, webpages — apps, articles, and files — will become tool calls with AI chat interfaces. In many ways, chat interfaces are already acting like browsers: they search, read, generate, respond.”
The boom in experimental AI browsers may stem from companies trying to anticipate Generation Z’s AI-native preferences.
Gen Z thinks of AI as “a starting point, versus a novelty,” said Varma.
“The biggest difference from other generations is that Gen Z doesn’t overthink how they use AI,” Armida Ascano, chief content officer and head futurist at trend platform Trend Hunter, told the Association of Equipment Manufacturers in December 2024. “It’s an invisible agent helping them improve their lives in any way possible.”
Gen Z may view AI as the default way to interact with the internet and often assumes they will encounter generative AI in the workplace.
“At the end of the day, people don’t really think of a search engine versus AI,” said Varma. “They’re really like, I have a task that I want to get done, and what is the best way to get that task done.”
AI removes the “hunting” aspect of search engines, Varma said. And Gen Z, with constant demands on their attention, appreciates its straightforwardness, he said. Companies may be competing for that attention specifically, even as AI use becomes more common among people from all generations.
Companies working on AI browsers
All of the major browsers — and many of the more niche options — have integrated AI into their products in some way. Google Chrome, the world’s most popular browser, offers Google Lens (which uses AI to answer questions about images or text on the webpage) and other services. Google searches in the address bar now lead directly to AI Overviews in Search.
The second most popular browser, Apple’s Safari, can use Apple Intelligence on applicable hardware to summarize websites.
Microsoft has integrated its Copilot AI assistant into Edge, the third most-popular browser.
“As AI evolves, so does Edge,” Ben Loeb, Microsoft senior product marketing manager for Microsoft Edge, said in an email to TechRepublic. “We’re building smarter, more intuitive features that bring your browser, search, and AI companion together into one seamless experience.”
Among smaller companies, The Browser Company is pausing updates for its unique Arc browser to instead focus on AI. It is putting all of its development resources into Dia, an AI-first browser that can draft content or write code based on the websites the user is visiting. For example, a user can tell it to remove the “Trending” sidebar from a social media feed.
Opera’s Neon markets itself as a browser that can search for you while you’re offline, with AI agents for filling out forms or creating websites.
The AI company Perplexity opened its Comet browser, which combines traditional web browsing with “agentic search,” to beta testers on June 23.
Last but not least, Norton Neo places its AI “Magic Box” as the first stop for anyone visiting the browser. Instead of typing a URL, the user can ask natural language questions and see the links in a preview window. It’s a similar concept to how Google Search is often the window to the rest of the internet.
OpenAI might be entering the browser market
OpenAI is allegedly working on a proprietary browser. Its Operator AI agent currently in research preview and its browser could carry out multi-step plans, such as ordering a meal for the user or buying a plane ticket when the price dips. OpenAI has already announced partnerships with companies like DoorDash.
OpenAI also signalled interest in getting a foothold in the browser market by suggesting it could buy Chrome if Google is forced to divest.
Browser use infrastructure is trendy, too
Startups are entering the fray, too. Browser Use, a California-based startup, received a $17 million seed round in March for its product, an automation tool to make websites more readable to generative AI agents.
Vivaldi will not add LLM features
Not every browser maker is following the large language model AI trend. In February 2024, the company behind the hyper-customizable browser Vivaldi vowed not to add an AI chatbot, citing concerns over copyright issues, energy consumption, and the potential for AI-generated hallucinations or lies.
Will AI browsers transform how we use the internet?
Generative AI may introduce uncertainty into browsing as much as it has into Google Search. It’s too early to know whether AI browsers will transform the way people use the internet, or be forgotten as just one of many possible experiments in what internet interfaces could look like.
Source: https://www.techrepublic.com/
