Chrome, Edge and Firefox: AI Feature Test Produces an Unexpected Winner

ZDNET writer Lance Whitney tested the built-in AI tools in Chrome, Edge and Firefox. Although Firefox remains his main browser, Edge won the AI test.

What Chrome can do with Gemini

Chrome offers several AI features built on Google Gemini. From the start page you can run a regular search or AI Mode, an extended mode with detailed answers. Even with a regular search, Google often shows AI Overview, a short summary of the answer before you click through to source sites.

The Ask Gemini button lets you discuss the contents of the open tab: ask for a summary, pose a question or break down a specific section of the page. Links from AI Mode now open in split-screen mode next to the chat, which is handy for quickly checking sources.

Among the notable features is saving prompts as "skills." Once you have written a good request to Gemini, you can save it and call it from any page with the `/` command. AI settings are collected in the "AI innovations" section, where you can also enable search history in search and writing help.

Edge and Copilot: deep integration

Edge is built around Microsoft Copilot, and that is obvious from the first launch. Copilot is built into the new tab page, the side panel, PDF handling and a multi-tab mode.

The standout is analysis of all open tabs at once: the user opens several pages on a topic, asks Copilot a question, and the AI reads each page and produces a structured answer. PDF analysis works the same way: you open a document, ask a question, and Copilot answers based on the file's contents.

Copilot Vision adds another layer: the AI "sees" the screen and can discuss its contents in a voice conversation. AI tab organization automatically groups open pages by topic: click "Organize tabs" and the browser sorts them into groups itself. The Journeys feature groups browsing history into topic cards.

"Copilot fits naturally into the browser and offers features that neither

Chrome nor Firefox has," writes the author of the test.

Firefox: choice of bot and privacy

Firefox takes a different path. Instead of its own AI, the browser provides access to several third-party chatbots:

• ChatGPT
• Google Gemini
• Microsoft Copilot
• Claude
• Le Chat Mistral

The user picks one in the side panel and can switch at any time. Right-clicking on a page lets you ask the chosen AI to summarize text or explain a selected passage.

The new Smart Window feature (public beta) opens a side panel with built-in AI that processes data locally; conversations are stored only on the user's computer. Smart Window supports discussing the current page and working with multiple tabs.

Firefox settings let you turn off all AI enhancements with a single "Block AI enhancements" switch, an option neither Chrome nor Edge has.

What this means

Edge proved unexpectedly strong at AI work: Copilot is deeply embedded in the interface, and simultaneous multi-tab analysis and Copilot Vision give real advantages when researching information. Chrome is convenient thanks to saved prompts, but falls short in depth of integration. Firefox with Smart Window is the choice for those who value privacy and want to control which AI they use.