Google has unveiled Project Mariner, a new tool designed to enhance web browsing with the help of artificial intelligence. This innovative project aims to provide users with a more efficient and intuitive browsing experience by utilizing AI technology to assist in various aspects of online navigation and information retrieval.
Project Mariner is set to assist users in web browsing and utilizing online services through the power of artificial intelligence.
Google recently unveiled Project Mariner alongside the introduction of the new Gemini AI version. A significant portion of Project Mariner is based on the Jarvis assistant, details of which were previously shared.
AI-powered tools designed to perform various tasks have become one of the hot topics in the tech world today, with many companies striving to introduce new products in this area for their users. Google, too, has recently unveiled Project Mariner, an AI tool to assist users during web browsing, during the introduction of the Gemini 2.0 chatbot. Currently under development, it will be accessible only to a limited number of users.
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Project Mariner is one of the products from Google’s DeepMind division, which has a long history of developing AI tools. However, this division is also known for discontinuing projects, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Mariner faces the same fate in the future. Nevertheless, the official launch and limited preview for users suggest that Project Mariner is more advanced compared to other DeepMind products, and we may see a public version of it in the future.
One of the features of Google’s web browsing assistant is the ability to automate tasks for users. It can take full control of the mouse pointer and keys, fill out online forms, and navigate between different websites. Tools similar to Project Mariner could significantly impact how users interact with websites and even lead to changes in the design of web pages in the near future. Additionally, many online product vendors or content publishers relying on real user traffic from Google Search may need to adjust their strategies.
What Features Does Project Mariner’s Web Browsing Assistant Have?
In the preview released for Project Mariner, a window appears on the right side of the Chrome browser where users can input their desired commands. To activate this window, users must first install the dedicated extension, which is currently available only to selected testers by Google. Tasks like retrieving information from websites, ordering products, or even registering on various platforms are among the commands users can give to Google’s AI assistant to handle.
In the preview of Project Mariner, it’s evident that Google’s web browsing assistant is not very fast, with a noticeable delay of about five seconds between each mouse movement. One of the main reasons for this issue is the need to take screenshots of the display and send them to Google’s servers for processing and issuing the next command, which takes time. Furthermore, it remains unclear how the processing needs of similar tools will be met when handling large volumes of screenshots if these tools become widespread. This also leads to another limitation: the screen and browser need to remain constantly active, meaning users cannot delegate tasks to the web browsing assistant while performing other actions in the same window.
Additionally, Google recently unveiled another AI-based feature called Deep Search, which allows for advanced, multi-step searches. This feature can provide users with summarized text versions of multiple search results.