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Chrome’s AI Mode can use tabs you choose as context for a Google Search query. You add recent tabs through the add-context menu; it does not automatically read every tab you have open. After AI Mode responds, you can open linked pages beside the conversation on desktop and ask follow-up questions. Availability and controls vary by account, device, language, and region.

What AI Mode does with your tabs

AI Mode in Chrome is Google Search’s AI search experience. You can give a query context from selected recent tabs, then ask a question across those sources. Google says AI Mode can return an AI response with links, which you can open to explore the underlying pages. This is a user-selected workflow, not permission for AI Mode to read every open tab automatically. Google describes the feature as a way to explore the web alongside Search.

On desktop, links opened from AI Mode appear in a side-by-side panel, so you can inspect a source and continue asking questions while keeping the search context visible. The specific controls may differ by platform and rollout.

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How to add open tabs to an AI Mode query

On a computer

  1. Sign in to Chrome and leave Incognito mode. Google lists both as prerequisites for the documented side-by-side tab workflow.
  2. Open a Chrome New Tab page and launch AI Mode.
  3. Choose the plus or add-context control, then select Add recent tabs. Google’s help page says Find most recent tabs can show tabs open in the window; choose Show more to reveal additional tabs if needed.
  4. Select the tabs you want AI Mode to use, enter your question, and submit it.
  5. Review the response and open its links to check the original pages. On desktop, those pages appear beside AI Mode, where you can ask follow-up questions.

The same add-context menu can also accept images or files. For the documented steps and current labels, see Google Chrome Help: Use AI to search & ask about your tabs.

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On Android or iOS

Google documents AI Mode entry points on both Android and iOS. Its menu can offer the current tab, multiple tabs, files, images, and other inputs. Because labels and availability can differ, follow the controls that appear in your version of Chrome rather than expecting the desktop layout on a phone. Google’s platform-specific guidance is in Use AI Mode in Chrome.

Questions that work well across selected tabs

Give AI Mode a clear task and specify which details matter. For example, selecting several research or product pages and asking for a comparison by criteria you name is a reasonable way to use the feature; it is not a guarantee that the answer will be complete or formatted as a reliable comparison table. Open the linked pages to verify important details.

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Google’s own examples include comparing local hiking trails and then asking for similar kid-friendly trails in another location. It also suggests combining class notes, lecture slides, and academic papers to request more examples that clarify a statistics concept. These are examples from Google’s announcement, not independently verified outcomes. Read Google’s AI Mode announcement.

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Availability and requirements

Google says AI Mode in Chrome is not available to everyone or on every device. Rollout is gradual outside the United States and for non-English languages; the April 16, 2026 announcement said the described updates were then available in the U.S., with expansion planned. Availability can therefore depend on your account, device, language, and region. Check whether AI Mode and the add-context control appear in your own Chrome interface rather than assuming the feature is enabled.

  • Sign-in: For the documented side-by-side tab and file workflow, Google Help says to be signed in to Chrome.
  • Incognito: That workflow is not available in Incognito mode.
  • Changing interface: Entry points and menu labels may vary across desktop, Android, iOS, and rollout versions.

What Google says about privacy and retained data

Google Chrome Help says temporary data such as screenshots, Lens selections, and PDF captures remain available during the session and are not saved. It also says tab titles and URLs added to a thread are saved for a specific number of months so users can return to conversations; the help information cited here does not state the precise duration. Google further says raw data from public and private URLs is not used for human review, personalization, ad targeting, or training AI models. These statements apply to the AI Mode feature described on that help page, not automatically to every Google AI feature or other browser data. See Google’s AI Mode tab help page for its current explanation.

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AI Mode is not the same name as Gemini in Chrome

Google describes AI Mode as a Search experience that accepts selected tabs as context. It separately describes Gemini in Chrome as a browsing assistant, with its own tab-sharing controls and capabilities such as summarizing content or comparing tabs. The experiences overlap, but their names and data controls are not interchangeable. Google’s separate overview is Gemini in Chrome expanding to more markets.

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Verify important answers against the source pages

Google Chrome Help warns that “AI responses may include mistakes.” Treat the response as a way to navigate and synthesize selected sources, not as proof that every detail is correct. For consequential information, open the cited pages and confirm the relevant facts there. See Google Chrome Help: Use AI Mode in Chrome.

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