Mozilla Firefox has added new AI features to its browser this week, but you have the option to turn them off.
"AI is changing the web, and people want very different things from it," Firefox head Ajit Varma wrote in a blog post earlier this month. "Listening to our community, alongside our ongoing commitment to offer choice, led us to build AI controls."
Varma said in a November blog post that Mozilla planned to expand AI features for Firefox. This includes an AI chatbot sidebar and AI-powered summaries. But in his February post, Varma said many people want nothing to do with AI, so Mozilla will include a button to turn it off in the latest update.
A Mozilla spokesperson told CNET that Firefox is making its AI features optional, transparent and easy to control or turn off entirely.
"The goal is always for a better browsing experience, one that keeps people in control of how they experience the web and now AI, as it becomes more common across the web," the spokesperson said via email.
The new version of Firefox, 148, went live on desktops on Feb. 24. The Mozilla spokesperson clarified that the new version will be desktop-only starting out, saying, "we are focused on getting the experience right before expanding further. We're closely watching early feedback and using those learnings to inform what comes next."
Artificial intelligence now permeates the internet, and the new version of the Firefox browser with AI features joins other leading browsers that already integrate AI. Google Chrome, Apple's Safari and Microsoft Edge all offer AI features.
Firefox embraces AI. How to turn it off
With around 200 million active monthly users, Firefox, which is run by the Mozilla Foundation, is by far the largest nonprofit-backed internet browser.
In the updated version of Firefox, there's a new menu in settings with toggles for each AI feature, allowing you to turn on and off any or all AI options.
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