Summary

  • Chrome for Desktop could make accessing Gemini much easier with upcoming integration in the omnibox.
  • You can just precede any query with “@gemini” and Chrome redirects you to the Gemini AI site.
  • The feature is still in testing and requires enabling flags in Chrome.



Google Chrome for desktop is an evolved browser, and although all its features aren’t ported over to Android, Chrome for Android is still one of the best web browsers for the OS. The address bar at the top, or the Omnibox, and Google likes to call it, is a great way to get started browsing the web — You can enter a URL, Search query, or navigation command for Chrome settings. Now, Google is adding AI to the mix with Gemini support in the omnibox.


Lower part of a phone showing Google's Gemini prompt on Android

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Gemini is Google’s flagship AI assistant, and it even replaced Google Assistant on Android recently. Access to the AI goodness might seem limited for desktop users, but the company also started forcing AI-generated summaries atop Search results following initial experimentation. All this while, Gemini was accessible via desktop using a dedicated web page, but the latest Canary builds for Chrome suggest direct integration with the Chrome omnibox is nearly complete (via Chrome Story).

As long as you’re signed in to your account on the Gemini web page, this integration would allow you to precede any query with “@gemini” in the omnibox, to receive an answer from the AI. You will be redirected to gemini.google.com/prompt and your query should appear in the prompt field, followed by a response.


Currently testing in Chrome Canary


However, the feature isn’t immediately available to all Chrome users on desktop immediately. You need to enable two flags for the integration to work, of which only one is available in the current stable build. The other one, IPH message for Site search starter pack, is only available on Chrome 125, which is currently in Canary testing.

chrome://flags/#omnibox-starter-pack-expansion

chrome://flags/#omnibox-starter-pack-iph

In principle, the integration is remarkably similar to the search options within Chrome where you precede a query with @tabs or @bookmarks to search within those subsections of the browser. We tested the feature in Canary and the UI elements seem polished enough for a stable release. Hopefully, this remains one of the key features of Chrome 125 when it goes stable. Unfortunately, though, the same flags are unavailable on the mobile version of the browser, so you’re better off querying the AI like you already do.