Chrome for desktop is getting a new set of AI-powered features across several updates that aim to help people find products on the internet. There will be three in total, and the first will be a change to how Google Lens works, allowing it to behave similarly to the Pixel 8’s Circle to Search.
According to the announcement, tapping the tool icon on a browser URL will allow you to select an object on the screen. Clicking on something highlights it and visual matches appear in a side panel as a Google Search result. The company says users can use multi-search to further refine a query “by color, brand, or other detail.” And thanks to Gemini, you can ask “follow-up questions to dig deeper into a topic.”
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You can also receive an AI overview where relevant information is collected and presented as text, although how it looks depends on what you ask. It's worth noting that this feature appeared very briefly in a recent beta version of Chrome. Despite its brief time in the testing phase, Google must have felt that the tool was already ready for a proper release.
The company goes on to say that it is not necessary to click on the Google Lens icon at the top. Users have the option to activate it by opening the “right-click or three-dot menu.”
Product comparison
In the coming weeks, Chrome will introduce Tab Compare, which lets you combine multiple tabs of similar products into a single window and present AI-generated descriptions of each. Google uses the example of someone searching for a portable Bluetooth speaker to buy.
A tab comparison window might show three different speakers from three different brands, highlighting key information such as price, battery life, weight, specifications, and a brief summary of the product. It's not known how these AI comparisons are made. The post doesn't say whether you have to tell the browser to do them or if they're done automatically.
Finally, Chrome aims to make it easier to find web pages in your browser history using generative AI. Instead of searching through dozens of links, you can ask questions. Google offers another example where a user tells Chrome to show all the ice cream shops they visited in the previous week. The browser will then show all the “relevant pages from your history.” [personal] history.”
Like Tab Compare, the browser history update will be rolling out in the coming weeks, starting in the United States. There's no word on when the feature will expand to other countries, though we've asked.
Make sure to keep an eye out for the Google Lens update. The company says it will roll out the patch “in the coming days.” If you’re in the market for a new computer, check out TechRadar’s list of the best Chromebooks for 2024.
