You can now search the web with Google Lens in the Chrome browser
Google Chrome is getting three new artificial intelligence (AI) features, the company announced Thursday. The Chrome browser was first introduced with Google’s own AI engine Gemini earlier this year, but those features were only available to paying Workspace subscribers. Now, however, the tech giant is adding AI features that all users can access. Those include the integration of Google Lens, an AI-powered browsing history that supports natural language queries, and a way to compare products across websites.
Google Chrome’s New AI Features
In a blog afterGoogle announced the new features for the Chrome browser. The company emphasized that the browser has been integrated with AI features in the background in recent years to improve the user experience. These features include AI-generated real-time captions for media with audio and a way to organize tabs.
The current update integrates Google Chrome with Google Lens. The visual lookup feature was added to the smartphone app years ago, but is now being brought to the desktop browser with a slight tweak. Instead of having to click on a photo to run it through Lens, users can simply perform a visual lookup, similar to Circle to Search.
Google Lens will be added to Chrome’s address bar, and users will be able to click on it to select any part of their screen and perform a visual search on it. A side panel will open, and users will see visual matches. At this point, users can use the multisearch feature to refine their search by color, brand, or other details. Follow-up questions can also be asked to dig deeper into a topic. The feature is currently rolling out to all users.
Tab comparison feature on Google Chrome
Photo credit: Google
Another interesting feature coming to Chrome is called Tab Compare. The feature is essentially a shopping tool that provides an AI-generated overview of products across multiple tabs and displays them on a single page. The information is presented in a tablet format for easy comparison. The search giant said that the table will show details such as product specifications, features, price and reviews. The feature will first roll out in the US in the coming weeks.
Finally, Google is also rolling out an AI-powered upgrade to Chrome’s browsing history. The feature will allow users to open history and type a natural language query, such as “What was the last ice cream shop I went to last week?” and Chrome will pull up the relevant pages. To ensure privacy, this feature will include browsing data from Incognito mode and can be toggled on or off in the settings. It’s also launching first in the US and will be available in the coming weeks.
