Chrome gets its biggest upgrade in years — the new Gemini side panel puts AI agents, multitasking, and Nano Banana inside the browser

• The latest Google Chrome upgrade in the US adds a new a Side Panel that opens when you click the Gemini button
• Nano Banana can now edit images directly inside Chrome browser tabs
• A new agentic Auto Browse feature can handle multi-step web tasks in the background

Google is transforming Chrome into an AI-first browser for US users. With a new Gemini side panel, built-in AI agents, and Nano Banana image editing, the latest update lets Chrome understand what you’re doing across multiple tabs, and even complete tasks for you in the background, marking the biggest shift in years in how the browser works.

Thanks to the recently announced Personal Intelligence feature, Gemini knows more about you than ever before, allowing it to be more helpful and contextually aware inside Chrome, too.

Alongside this, a new Auto Browse feature can take care of multi-step tasks, like booking tickets or planning a holiday in the background while you continue browsing.

Here’s a closer look at the new features.

Gemini Side Panel

The most noticeable change in the new Chrome is the Gemini side panel, which is always accessible no matter which tab you’re in. It isn’t forced on you, though – you still need to activate it. To do that, simply click the Gemini icon in the top-right corner of Chrome and the side panel will appear, like this:

Multitasking using the side panel works by keeping your main work open in the primary tab while handling a separate task in the side panel. This is ideal for comparing options across different tabs, summarizing product reviews from multiple sites, or finding time for events across chaotic calendars, all using natural language prompts in Gemini.

Nano Banana image editing

The upgraded Chrome also lets you use Google’s Nano Banana image generator without going anywhere else. That means there’s no longer any need to download images from web pages and then upload them to Gemini separately.

If an image is open in a browser tab, you can now type a prompt in the side panel to alter it using Nano Banana. For example, if you find a living room design you like, you can ask Gemini to change the sofa or chairs – even referencing items open in another tab. Everything happens inside the side panel and is then available to download.

Here's an example:

Auto Browse

Perhaps the most impressive new AI feature in Chrome is Auto Browse. This is essentially an AI agent that you can send off to complete multi-step, web-based tasks such as booking concert tickets or creating travel itineraries, while you get on with something else.

Auto Browse is designed to quietly take care of online admin. Instead of bouncing between tabs, you can ask it to book appointments, gather tax documents, check whether bills have been paid, or manage subscriptions on your behalf. It can also handle more time-consuming chores, like collecting quotes from plumbers or electricians, filing expense reports, and speeding up tasks such as driver’s license renewals.

AI agents in browsers aren’t new, Perplexity’s Comet browser is a good example, but they fundamentally change how we use the web by saving time. One common obstacle is that many booking sites require logins. Chrome tackles this by using Chrome's Password Manager to log you in automatically.

Auto Browse is designed to pause and explicitly ask for your confirmation or prompt you to complete some tasks like making a purchase or posting on social media. Auto Browse is currently rolling out in preview in the US for Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers

Here's an example of Auto Browse in action:

Personal Intelligence and connected apps

The new Chrome makes use of Google’s recently announced Personal Intelligence feature, alongside Connected Apps. This pulls together information from across Google’s ecosystem to add context and awareness to your requests.

For example, if Personal Intelligence finds your child’s school name in your Gmail, it can work out term dates, which is useful if you’re browsing holidays in different tabs and ask, “Which one of these matches my kids’ spring break?”

Personal Intelligence also uses context from past conversations to deliver more personalized answers over time. The new browser also has new defences designed to protect you from the latest security threats.

Using Connected Apps you can also ask Gemini to send an email using your Gmail. Here's how it works:

Is this too much AI?

By putting AI at the center of web browsing, the new Chrome feels like a natural evolution of Google’s most popular browser. With Gemini’s popularity rising relative to ChatGPT following the release of Nano Banana and Gemini 3, baking it directly into Chrome could give Google’s chatbot another boost and make users less likely to look elsewhere for AI tools.

Striking the balance between AI feeling stuffed unnecessarily into products and it being genuinely useful is always going to be tough call to make, but the fact that the new AI side panel only appears when you click the Gemini button in Chrome helps make it feel less intrusive.

Gemini in Chrome remains a US-only feature for now, and the new features are rolling out today.

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