Firefox Is Introducing Three New Features for Its Smart Window.
If you like to stay on top of the latest trends, you might be familiar with Firefox’s Smart Window feature (formerly known as AI Window). If not, here’s a quick overview: Smart Window is Firefox’s version of an AI-powered web assistant. You can use the chat feature to ask general questions (like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude) or submit queries about the pages you’re viewing. The feature is located in the Firefox menu bar: you can enable it at any time—there are three models to choose from—and disable it.
Since Firefox’s entire philosophy is based on privacy, it emphasizes that none of your interactions with AI Window are used to train Mozilla models, and your data is never sold to third parties —similar to DuckDuckGo’s approach to artificial intelligence . However, Mozilla states that it has made changes to Smart Window during the initial beta period. While this feature is still in beta, the company announces further updates.
Firefox’s Smart Window feature is getting new features.
On Tuesday morning, the company officially unveiled three new Smart Window features, which beta testers can now take advantage of. First, Mozilla announced a new way to search the web without leaving the current window. Developed in partnership with Exa, this feature lets you search the web with sources without having to navigate to a new search results page. I imagine this is a new approach to using two windows in split-screen mode—though I usually have no problem quickly searching in a new tab and closing it when I’m done.
Secondly, Smart Window now supports automatic tab grouping. If you have multiple tabs in your Firefox window, Smart Window can suggest groups for similar tabs. Other browsers, such as Chrome, have had this feature for some time, but it’s new for Firefox, which previously only offered manual tab grouping. Finally, Smart Window will be able to show you “visual previews” of pages from your browsing history. The idea is to make it easier to find the pages you need in your digital history, instead of having to search through various text URLs.
Mozilla wants the Smart Window feature to remember your actions in Firefox.
Mozilla wants Smart Window to be more than just Firefox with a chatbot. Based on user feedback, the company is working on features that will track your Firefox activity to make it easier to pick up where you last left off. The idea is that instead of pondering what you searched for earlier in the day or trying to remember the websites you browsed last night, you can ask Smart Window to help you get back to them. In this sense, it’s similar to features like “Computer History” in ChatGPT , which tracks your overall computer usage so you can ask the bot questions about what you’ve been doing on your Mac.
Mozilla claims that in the near future, you’ll be able to view “recent browser activity” from Smart Window, using tabs and history to essentially return to a previous browsing session. While browsing history has been standard for decades, how many of us really want our browsers to keep a detailed log of everything we do in each session? I think I’d rather spend a little time reflecting on what I was doing last time, or at least jotting down notes, than have Firefox track my every action.
The company is also working on adding AI-powered form-filling capabilities similar to the tools Google touted at its I/O conference . I suspect AI will be more receptive to such features: I’d rather Firefox be better at filling out forms on my behalf than “remembering” what I did on Monday night. But perhaps I’d prefer the AI to do neither:
All artificial intelligence features in Firefox are optional.
Like all AI features in Firefox, Smart Window is completely optional. You can not only turn it on or off at any time, but also disable it completely , like all other AI features. While even Firefox has embraced the idea of using AI, it’s useful to offer simple ways to disable these new features for users who want a traditional, simple browsing experience.