Experimental tool uses AI to turn tabs into apps as browser war heats up
News Desk: Google has stepped into the fast-evolving AI browser race with Disco, a new experimental browser that places artificial intelligence at the centre of the browsing experience, signalling a clear pushback against rivals such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT Atlas.
Unlike new-age browsers that simply add AI chat assistants to familiar layouts, Disco is designed from the ground up as an AI-native product. The launch comes as competition intensifies after OpenAI projected Atlas as a potential challenger to Chrome’s long-standing dominance—ironically while relying on Google’s own Chromium engine.
Disco is a new experiment from @GoogleLabs, designed to reimagine browsing and building for the modern web. The first feature we’re testing is GenTabs — a new way to remix your open tabs into totally custom apps using Gemini 3, our most intelligent model.
We’ve all felt the… pic.twitter.com/H9LDMDDAMb
— Google (@Google) December 11, 2025
From tabs to task-ready apps
The standout feature of Disco is GenTabs, driven by Google’s latest Gemini 3 AI model. Instead of leaving users to juggle dozens of open tabs, GenTabs scans browsing activity and instantly converts related pages into custom, interactive mini-apps.
Travel searches morph into itinerary planners with maps, academic research becomes visual study dashboards, and food browsing turns into organised recipe and shopping tools. Users can further refine these AI-built apps using simple text commands, with every insight linked back to original sources.
Early users say the system dramatically cuts clutter and turns browsing into a more goal-oriented experience.
A different play from AI rivals
While ChatGPT Atlas, Perplexity’s Comet and Microsoft Edge with Copilot rely on AI assistants layered over traditional browsers, Disco flips the model. Here, AI-generated applications are not add-ons—they are the browser’s building blocks.
Atlas, for instance, offers smart menus and agent-style actions such as bookings, but still behaves like a conventional browser. Disco’s approach aims to change browser behaviour itself, not just enhance it.
Testing ground for the future
Currently available via invite-only access for macOS users, Google describes Disco as a sandbox for experimentation rather than a finished consumer product. Successful features could later make their way into Chrome or other Google services.
The stakes are high. Most AI browsers today are constrained by Chromium’s legacy design, limiting how far they can reimagine web interaction. Google’s direct control over that foundation gives it room to experiment—but also puts pressure on the company to turn bold ideas into products people actually adopt.
Whether Disco becomes a mainstream tool or joins the list of ambitious Google experiments remains to be seen. What’s clear is that the browser battlefield is rapidly shifting, with AI now shaping the next era of how the internet is used—not just accessed.
