A237 Phrasal verbs – How to use Gemini in Google Chrome

I tend to jump around between different AI chat assistants, but when I’m working in the Chrome web browser, the Gemini button is right there, letting me access Gemini much faster than any other assistant. So, I’ve been using Gemini a little more often these days, which is great because Google just released some powerful new updates. I’m Nick and I’m going to show you five new features that Google has announced for the Gemini panel inside of Chrome. [snorts]

In the Chrome browser, look for the Gemini button in the top right. And if you don’t see that button, it’s probably because you’re not signed into a Google account. Click the profile button and make sure you’re signed into your Google account there. Now, when you click that Gemini button, we immediately see the first new feature. Gemini opens up as a side panel in the Chrome browser window. In the past, Gemini would open up as a floating panel, which could sometimes block what you needed to see on the web page. Now everything is cleanly separated in that side panel. And if you’re not seeing that side panel, go into Chrome settings and make sure to run any updates and you may need to restart after installing the updates.

Now let’s take a closer look at the chat field. It shows that it’s sharing the browser tab that I’m currently looking at. So I can ask a question and Gemini answers the question as it relates to the content of this page. But I have three tabs open in Chrome. When I go to each tab, I can choose to have the Gemini panel open or closed on each one. And the default setting is to answer questions about the tab that I’m currently looking at. If you want, you can clear that and then you can ask a general question that has nothing to do with the page that you’re looking at. Or you can click the plus button and add any of the tabs that you currently have open or all of them if you want. Then ask a question using the context of all of those tabs. I’ll ask which of these would be the least expensive to visit in April. Looks like they’re pretty close, but a trip to Paris might be the best option.

Now, according to Google’s marketing material, the side panel itself is the new feature. But in my opinion, the new feature is that you get to choose the layout you want because in the side panel, you can click a button to pop the chat out into a floating window like it was in the past, but now you can move that window around or click the button to attach it back into the side panel.

The second new feature is that you can now use Nano Banana inside the Gemini panel in Chrome. Nano Banana is Google’s amazing image generator. You can simply describe the picture you want. So, let’s make a poster for this trip to Paris. It uses Nano Banana, then generates the picture. And as always, you can ask for changes until you get what you want. Or if you are browsing the web and find a picture that looks interesting, you can use the Gemini panel in Chrome to modify it. I think it’s best if you right-click on the picture and choose open image in new tab. Then switch to that tab so you’re just focusing on the picture. I don’t want to modify the picture that we just generated, so I’ll be sure to start a new chat. And I’ll tell it to remove the people from this picture and make it a rainy day. And after a moment, it gives me that modified picture. I can right click on the picture and save it or click on it to see it in a new tab in Chrome.

Next, let’s take a look at auto browse. We know that Gemini can go out on the web and do research, but now it can actually take over the controls and do real work for you in your browser. Auto browse is one of the features that requires a personal Google account with the Google AI Pro or AI Ultra subscription, and it will not work if your computer is managed by your employer or a similar organization. With that in mind, I found some information about a kayak tour that I want to do. Let’s get Gemini to do some shopping to help me get ready. I’ll open up Gemini in Chrome so it will refer to the information on this page, and I’ll tell it that the boat and the safety equipment are included, but I want it to find everything else I need from the REI website and add it to the cart. If it’s your first time using the auto browse feature, you’ll need to give Gemini permission. Then Gemini starts the auto browse task, and I can switch over to the new tab and follow what’s happening. Or I could just walk away and let Gemini do all the work. It’s working on the REI website because I told it to look there. REI is a big camping and sporting goods store. Identifying a specific site is not always necessary, but I find that it helps.

A popular way to use the auto browse feature is to find a recipe, then ask Gemini to find all of the ingredients you need for the recipe. Or you could ask it to compare prices for flights or rental cars for your next trip. As it works, Gemini may ask you to take over if it needs you to sign into a website or clear some alert that blocks progress, or you could take over manually at any point if you want. When it’s finished, Gemini tells me that the task is done. The REI website is still open, so I can go to the cart and see what it assembled. You may need to go back and choose some different sizes or make other small corrections. Or you can tell Gemini to make changes. I’ll tell it to add some gloves and Gemini will start that task up again.

Now, let’s move on to our next new feature. The Gemini panel in Chrome can work with connected apps like your Gmail, Calendar, and Google Maps. But first, you have to give Gemini permission to use those connected apps. In Chrome, go to settings, then to the category for AI innovations, and select Gemini in Chrome. From there, click manage connected apps. And you can come here at any time to control which of these Gemini can access. I’ll connect it to Google Workspace so it can use my Gmail and my calendar. Now in the Gemini panel, I’ll ask it to get some information from my email about a conference I’m attending. The hosts of the conference included some tourist recommendations when they emailed me. So I’ll ask Gemini to plan a walking tour in Google Maps based on recommendations from those emails. I can see as Gemini checks my Gmail, then uses Google Maps, and it makes the plan, which includes a link for the map, which shows the entire route with all of the stops.

Let’s ask for a little adjustment. I can tell Gemini that my coworker wants to check out a local bakery with good cookies. Gemini found a few options, so I’ll tell it to add one to the itinerary. It gives me a new link for the updated tour. And just to be safe, I’m going to ask Gemini to write an email to the conference hosts sharing this plan and asking for their feedback. That draft looks good, so I’ll send it.

Now that my after-hours plans are all set, I can dedicate my time to preparing for the conference. And finally, Google made one last announcement along with all of these other new features. Personal intelligence is a feature that lets Gemini give you highly personalized help and responses based on what it learns about you from previous interactions and you can connect it to your Google apps to learn even more about you. If you have a Google AI Pro or AI Ultra subscription with a personal account, then you can work with personal intelligence in the Gemini app. Try going to gemini.google.com and ask it to show your personal intelligence snapshot. That will give you a summary of what personal intelligence has learned about you. And don’t worry, this is a demo account, so I’m not revealing any private information here.

But speaking of privacy, if you don’t want to use personal intelligence, you can go to Gemini settings to personal intelligence and you can disable the entire feature or control which Google apps it can connect to. But personal intelligence itself is not a new feature. For the moment, it only works in the main Gemini app and website. The new feature is that this will soon work in the Gemini panel in Chrome. So, when you watch this video, you might want to take a look at the settings there to see if it has been added yet.

So, those are the new features announced at the start of 2026 for the Gemini in Chrome panel. Personally, I think one of the biggest races in the AI world this year will be about convenience. The AI assistant that people get to the fastest is going to have a strong lead. And that’s why AI-enabled browsers and integration with operating systems is going to be a pretty big deal in the next few months. Of course, there are other AI browsers like ChatGPT Atlas and Perplexity’s Comet browser. And of course, Microsoft Edge has had Copilot integration for a while, including many features that are very similar to what we’ve seen here in Chrome. You can check out Kevin’s video on this channel that shows how Copilot works in Edge. But if Chrome is your default web browser, like it is for so many people, then that probably makes Gemini the fastest and most convenient AI assistant for you.