Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOGL.US) enters a new chapter in AI monetization: Chrome's "Auto Browse" feature is now limited to AI Pro/Ultra paid subscribers.

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOGL.US) is launching an AI assistant feature called "Auto Browse," powered by Gemini, for its Chrome browser, marking the evolution of the browser from a simple information carrier to an intelligent assistant. This feature can perform tasks such as opening websites and clicking on pages on behalf of the user, allowing users to complete shopping, price comparison, and other tasks without leaving the browser. According to product director Charmaine D'Silva, users can instruct the assistant to compare prices on multiple airline and hotel websites simultaneously, making it efficient for planning family trips and other scenarios. "Our testers use it for all kinds of things: scheduling appointments, filling out online forms, collecting tax documents, getting quotes from plumbers and electricians, checking if bills have been paid, submitting expense reports, managing subscription services, and speeding up driver's license renewalssaving a lot of time," Chrome vice president Parisa Tabriz stated in a blog post. This launch is the latest move by parent company Alphabet to integrate artificial intelligence advancements into its entire product line. Earlier this month, the company announced that Gemini can personalize replies using data from users' interactions on Gmail, Search, Photos, and YouTube. With the "Personal Intelligence" feature enabled on Chrome, the Gemini assistant can assist with travel-related logistics, such as checking school schedules and existing appointments to find the best options for families, D'Silva said in a media conference call. The development of this technology traces back to a project codenamed Project Jarvis, aimed at automating browser operations using AI. The core advantage of Auto Browse lies in its high integration capabilities, particularly in collaboration with existing tools, allowing AI to handle various "digital chores" that require interaction across webpages, like collecting and organizing information and completing online processes, significantly boosting productivity. The "Auto Browse" feature in Chrome will be open to AI Pro and AI Ultra subscription users in the US and will use Google Password Manager to log in on behalf of users. As part of this release, Alphabet Inc. Class C also introduces its image generation tool Nano Banana directly into Chrome. Despite the powerful potential for autonomous operations exhibited by AI agents, Alphabet Inc. Class C emphasizes user security and privacy protection in its design, setting clear boundaries to ensure user confirmation is required in critical moments. The company states that safeguards have been put in place to prevent the agent AI from making final decisions such as placing orders without user permission. "We are leveraging artificial intelligence and on-device models to protect people from evolving threats in a complex environment, whether it's AI-generated scams or increasingly sophisticated attackers," Tabriz stated in the conference call.