Google is flexing the power of its latest AI model, Gemini 3, with an experimental feature that can build apps based on open web pages and chatbot queries.
GenTabs “turn your tabs into custom apps” to help you navigate the web in more helpful and immersive ways, Google says. “As our online tasks have grown more complex, we’ve all felt the frustration of juggling dozens of open tabs to research a topic or plan a trip.”
(Credit: Google)
The feature works by “proactively understanding” the content in your open tabs and chatbot queries to create interactive apps that can distill the information in new ways. For example, if you ask it to plan a trip to Japan, GenTabs will provide an interactive app featuring a zoomable map, calendar, and info bars. In another clip, Google demoed GenTabs creating an interactive 3D model of the solar system.
Importantly, the feature will even nudge you to try GenTabs as you browse the web. If you’re looking for tourist info, it might say, “I could create an interactive tool to help you compare activities, which might be helpful if you’re exploring options.”
The experimental feature arrives almost a month after Google released Gemini 3, which has quickly challenged and, in some cases, surpassed OpenAI’s ChatGPT. According to Google, Gemini 3 also stands for its ability to quickly code and build visual tools, immersive layouts, and apps.
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The GenTabs put a larger spotlight on the app-building, making it easier for less knowledgeable users to experience. However, GenTabs won’t be available via the Chrome browser. Instead, you’ll need Disco, a new Google app “designed to reimagine browsing and building for the modern web,” the company says. “We’re opening up a waitlist to download Disco and try GenTabs, starting on macOS. Sign up today!”
Although the company is limiting access, the Disco app is especially interesting, as it previews how Google might want to overhaul the traditional browser experience. It ditches the old-school Google search box for a conversational chatbot experience from the start. As you browse the web, Disco will display two windows side by side. The first shows your ongoing conversation with Google’s chatbot. The second displays the actual browser, including all the tabs.
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(Credit: Google)
Of course, the AI integration may spark concerns about Gemini hallucinating inaccurate information or taking traffic away from third-party websites. Perhaps in response, the company says, “every generative element ties back to the web [and] always links to the original sources.”
Still, others might worry about Google’s AI models scanning your open web pages. For now, the company says: “It’s early, and not everything will work perfectly. We’re starting with a small cohort of testers, and their feedback will help us understand what’s useful, what needs work and what they’d like to see in the future.”
The company adds: “The most compelling ideas from Disco may one day make their way into larger Google products — but by putting this experiment in people’s hands now, we can learn faster and together help shape the future of browsing.”
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Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
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