Google to soon bring Gemini Nano to Chrome desktop

At the recently concluded Google I/O 2024, Google said it is working on bringing Gemini Nano to the desktop version of Chrome, the world’s most popular internet browser.

The smallest member of the Gemini family, Gemini Nano is said to enable several on-device AI features like ‘Help Me Write,’ a writing assistant that can help users generate drafts, emails and reports. 

The functionality was previously limited to Google Workspace apps like Docs and Slides. 

The Gemini Nano integration will also help users generate text for product reviews, social media posts, and other things.

Microsoft also added a similar feature to Edge last year, but unlike Gemini Nano, Copilot requires internet connectivity to work. 

In this case, since the AI model runs offline, all your prompts and generated information will stay on the device, making it more privacy friendly compared to other chatbots.

Google said this was possible due to the recent progress on WebGPU and WASM support on Chrome. 

This will help Gemini Nano run at a reasonable speed on different hardware configurations.

Google already seems to be in talks with other companies to bring the feature to other internet browsers, and said it will soon open an early preview program for developers.

The company also announced that Gemini Nano will be coming to Chrome DevTools as well, allowing developers to get explanations for error messages, and help them fix coding issues.