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Android users who use Chrome on their smartphone are in for a big change soon. It appears Google is once more changing the UI of Chrome on smartphones in order to bring Gemini directly to your tabs. The feature has already started rolling out on some Android phones running the latest stable build. The feature appears to only be available when using the navigation bar along the bottom, a feature that Google added to mobile versions of Chrome in 2025.
Based on screenshots shared by user Leopeva64 on X, this change appears to streamline the current way that you can interact with Gemini in Chrome — which previously required you to activate it on your device itself. However, with the new option, you can bring up Gemini directly in the active tab without pulling it up on your phone first. This will probably be handy for people that want to use Gemini more in their mobile browsing, but for those that don’t, this could be yet another reason for them to switch away to another browser on their smartphone.
Google won’t stop the aggressive Gemini push
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Since introducing Gemini, Google has continued to expand how AI features are utilized across the board in its different apps and experiences. Chrome has already received several AI features, including the ability to invoke the Gemini assistant directly in the browser on desktops and laptops. While there are certainly reasons to use Gemini in Chrome, some users may be tired of feeling like Google is shoving Gemini down their throats with every other update.
For many, Chrome is the default browser on their smartphones, while also offering the best speed and capabilities for their usage. Google has made some solid changes to Chrome that don’t rely on AI — like the addition of a back button in Chrome on Android and iOS. But when you consider that Google Chrome now uses another 4GB of your computer for AI features that you might not use, and that those features are steadily transitioning over to your smartphone’s mobile browser, too, it’s clear to see why some users might be growing tired of the status quo. Many users already recommend moving to open-source options that don’t shove AI down your throat, and if Google continues making moves like this, then it may end up with even more making that transition.
