Google announced on Tuesday that it is integrating more artificial intelligence capabilities into its Chrome web browser. The company is introducing a new feature called Skills, which will enable users to store and reuse their preferred AI prompts across various web pages without needing to retype them.
This feature integrates with Google’s existing Gemini AI integration in Chrome, which was launched amidst a wave of new browser competitors from companies such as OpenAI (Atlas), Perplexity (Comet), and The Browser Company (Dia).
While Gemini already allows users to inquire about web page content, summarize information, or perform diverse tasks, Skills advances this by enabling users to craft AI prompts that can be accessed repeatedly with a single click.
For example, Google suggests that if a user frequently requests Gemini to provide vegan alternatives on recipe sites, they can now save this prompt as a Skill and apply it to different web pages.
To utilize this feature, users can save an AI prompt as a Skill directly from their chat history. The Skill can then be reactivated within Gemini in Chrome by typing a forward slash ( / ) or clicking the plus sign ( + ) button. The Skill will then execute on the current web page and any additional selected tabs.
Google also mentions that these Skills can be modified at any time.
Internal tests revealed that early adopters employed Skills for tasks like health and wellness, such as calculating protein macros in recipes, as well as for shopping comparisons or quickly summarizing extensive documents.
To assist users in getting started with Skills, the company is also rolling out a Skills library that will feature common tasks and workflows across categories like productivity, shopping, recipes, and budgeting. Users can add a pre-programmed Skill to their saved Skills in Chrome or customize it by editing the prompt to suit their specific needs.
Similar to other Gemini functionalities in Chrome, Skills will prompt the user for confirmation before performing certain actions, such as sending an email or adding an event to a calendar.
The rollout of Skills begins today for Chrome desktop users who are logged into their Google account. Initially, the feature will only be available if the Chrome browser’s language setting is English (US).