Google creating an AI agent to use your PC on your behalf, says report

Google is reportedly working on an AI that takes over your web browser to complete various tasks. It is also busy creating an agent that will control your computer – beyond the browser. According to Reuters, this AI tool will arrive as ‘Project Jarvis’ in the browser and is intended to come out with the next release of its Gemini LLM. The search giant is not alone in developing a system like this, as OpenAI is reportedly also working on a computer-using agent, or CUA, which prowls the web autonomously in your browser.

The browser-based AI would make it easier for users to conduct online research, as they no longer have to develop APIs or even use a screen recording so that the AI tool can read the user data. Instead, you can directly give it commands in your browser and it should automatically do everything you need, including filling out forms and clicking buttons. AI-tasked examples include opening pertinent web pages, compiling search data into easily readable tables, purchasing products, or booking flights.

If Google is successful in deploying a system like this, it would make AI tools far more accessible, even allowing those with zero experience in AI to use it easily and effectively. That’s because it removes the need to develop APIs or even find techniques that would allow the AI to access the required data — just type in what you want it to do in your browser and it will get down to business instantly.

Reaching beyond the browser to control your computer

Aside from the reported Google AI browser-based intentions, there have been rumors that Anthropic and Google want to take this tool to the next level, going beyond browser control. The companies are reportedly interested in creating an agent that will control your computer for you, allowing you to give it a command (like opening all your work apps and arranging them on your screen), and it will interact with your system on your behalf.

However, even the browser-based Project Jarvis would likely raise privacy and security issues, perhaps as much as Microsoft’s controversial Recall feature did. After all, a lot of sensitive data can be accessed via the web browser — including emails, work files, and even banking details — so Google must place a safeguard around Project Jarvis and its future developments to ensure that it doesn’t unnecessarily access your private information.