Google’s Chrome adds 'Auto Browse' AI agent

• Auto Browse places a generative-AI agent inside Chrome to navigate websites on the user's behalf.
• The feature aims to automate tasks like reading, summarizing, and retrieving information, while raising privacy and security questions.
• Users are expected to remain passengers with controls to start, pause, or stop the agent; opt-in and permissions will matter.
• The change could reshape browsing workflows and affect publishers, ad models, and consent frameworks.

What Auto Browse is

Google’s Auto Browse is a new Chrome feature that puts a generative-AI agent “behind the wheel” of your browser, letting it roam the web and perform tasks without you clicking through every page. The headline claim: the browser can act on your behalf to find, read, summarize, or interact with web content.

The feature reframes browsing from manual navigation to an assisted workflow, where the user gives high-level instructions and the agent executes them.

How it likely works

Auto Browse appears designed to accept prompts (for example, “find the latest review of X” or “compare prices for Y”) and then visit, parse, and extract information across sites. The generative model would synthesize results into concise answers or actions.

Because the scraped source is limited, details such as model architecture, on-device vs. cloud processing, and exact UI are not available here. Expect typical Chrome patterns: a visible control surface, activity logs, and an opt-in flow.

Privacy and security considerations

Giving an AI agent permission to roam means granting it access to the pages you instruct it to visit. That raises immediate questions about data handling, what is sent to Google’s servers, and how long logs are retained.

Security concerns include how the agent handles interactive elements (forms, logins, payments) and whether safeguards prevent it from taking destructive or privacy-invasive actions. Clear permission prompts and the ability to revoke access will be essential.

Why this matters

If Auto Browse works well, it could speed research, shopping, and routine web tasks, making Chrome more proactive and task-focused. For publishers and advertisers, an autonomous agent that summarizes or bypasses pages may change traffic patterns and revenue dynamics.

Regulators and privacy-conscious users will scrutinize how the agent collects and uses content. The feature also advances a broader trend: browsers becoming platforms for AI assistants rather than just rendering engines.

User control and next steps

Expect Google to offer granular controls to start, pause, or stop Auto Browse sessions, plus settings to limit what pages and data the agent can access. Users should look for clear opt-in language and a straightforward way to review or delete agent activity.

Until official documentation or a full rollout is published, treat Auto Browse as an experimental change that promises convenience but requires careful attention to privacy and security settings.