If you’ve ever fallen down a rabbit hole searching online, you know the drill. You open a tab, follow a link, open another, and another, and suddenly there are 14 tabs open and no answers.
This was one of the reasons I had to switch to Arc Browser, which offered easier-to-manage vertical tabs, which, by the way, Google Chrome also added a week ago. But Google doesn’t stop there and adds a meaningful upgrade to AI mode in Chrome to address this issue.
So what has Google done to solve the tab chaos?
The biggest change is that clicking on a link in AI mode will no longer distract you from your search. Instead, the webpage opens alongside AI mode, allowing you to browse the site and still ask more questions without losing track.
Google provided a shopping example to demonstrate this feature. Let’s say you buy a compact coffee maker that can make a decent latte. You describe what you want in AI mode and search for it. You find a model you like and click on the link. Instead of opening in a new tab, it opens right there on the right side.
Now you can ask questions like, “How easy is this to clean?” AI mode fetches context from the page and gives you an actual answer. No new tab, no fresh start.
It works just as well for research. In addition to AI mode, if you want to learn more about McLaren’s racing teams, you can also browse McLaren’s official website and ask questions in real time.
I don’t think the feature is available to everyone yet. I tried repeating the same steps but the links still open in a new tab. So if you don’t see this feature, wait for it to roll out in the coming days.
What else do you get with this new update?
Another important innovation is the ability to search across tabs, and that’s probably the more exciting part for me. On both desktop and mobile, a new “Plus” menu in the search box lets you retrieve your already open tabs and add them to your AI Mode search. You can mix and match tabs, images, and even PDFs.
Are you studying for an exam? Add your course notes, lecture slides, and reading tabs to the search, then ask AI Mode to explain something you’re stuck on. All context is used to give you a tailored answer.
Many AI browsers, including Perplexity Comet, offer a similar cross-tab search feature, and it’s nice to see Google Chrome getting in on the action.
