Google launches Major Gemini AI Update for Chrome in Canada: What’s New

Google is rolling out new AI features for Chrome that bring its Gemini assistant directly into the browser, starting on macOS, Windows, and Chromebook Plus, according to the company on Wednesday.

The update adds a new Gemini side panel in Chrome that lets users ask questions, summarize content, and compare information without switching tabs. Google says the goal is to make multitasking on the web easier by keeping AI tools visible alongside whatever page you are viewing.

The Gemini side panel can be used to compare products across multiple sites, summarize reviews, or help organize schedules while leaving the main browser tab untouched.

Google is also adding image-editing tools powered by its Nano Banana AI model. This allows users to modify images directly from a web page using text prompts, without downloading files or opening separate apps.

Another part of the update brings tighter links between Chrome and Google apps such as Gmail, Calendar, Maps, YouTube, Shopping, and Flights. For example, Gemini can pull information from emails, check flight options, and help draft messages based on that context. These integrations can be turned on or off in Gemini’s settings.

In the coming months, Google plans to introduce ‘Personal Intelligence’ in Chrome. This feature will let Gemini remember context from past conversations to deliver more tailored answers. Google says users must opt in and can disconnect apps at any time.

For paid AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in the U.S., Google is also launching a new feature called Chrome auto browse. This tool can handle multi-step online tasks such as researching travel options, filling out forms, collecting documents, and comparing service quotes. Auto browse may also shop online by identifying items in images, searching for similar products, and adding them to a cart, with user approval required for sensitive actions. This doesn’t look to be available in Canada just yet.

Chrome will also support Google’s new Universal Commerce Protocol, an open standard designed to let AI agents complete shopping tasks across participating retailers such as Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, and Target.

Google says the new features include safeguards that pause tasks and ask for confirmation before making purchases or posting content.

The company describes these changes as early steps toward a more automated, AI-assisted web browsing experience, part of the ‘agentic’ web era. With Apple set to leverage Gemini to power the next AI version of Siri, it would be equally awesome to have an AI sidebar in Safari.