AI on Chrome: Gemini Nano

 Artificial Intelligence in Chrome  |  AI on Chrome  |  Chrome for Developers

With built-in AI, your browser provides and manages foundation and expert models. In Chrome, that includes Gemini Nano.

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Google Chrome integrates its lightweight, on-device AI model, Gemini Nano, into the browser. Running directly on your device, it powers features like text summarization, content rewriting, and scam detection without sending your data to external servers. [1, 2, 3]

How it works & controversies:

• Silent Downloads: Chrome will silently download a ~4GB weights.bin file into your user profile directory when it detects your device meets the hardware and storage requirements.
• Privacy and Speed: Because the AI operates client-side, your data remains secure within your device, and it can function offline once downloaded.
• Controversy: The background download occurs without explicit user consent, which has sparked privacy and storage concerns among users. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

How to Disable and Remove Gemini Nano:
If you want to free up the storage space or opt out of on-device AI, you can easily disable it in your browser settings:

1. Click the three dots in the top-right corner of Chrome.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Select the System tab.
4. Toggle On-device AI to the Off position. [1, 2, 3]

Disabling this feature stops the model from running and triggers Chrome to remove the model files from your computer. [1, 2]

You can read more about Google's Built-In AI APIs and features directly on the Google for Developers AI on Chrome documentation.