Build new features using built-in AI in Chrome
Chrome's new built-in AI features, including Summarizer, Prompt, Writer, Rewriter, and Translator APIs, enable cost-efficient, privacy-first, and performant on-device AI for web applications.
Deep dive
- Google I/O 2026 presentation by Thomas Steiner highlighted Chrome's built-in AI capabilities.
- The AI models run directly on the user's device, offering cost-efficiency by eliminating cloud inference costs.
- This approach ensures privacy, as sensitive data remains local within the browser.
- Features work offline once the model is downloaded, and hardware acceleration provides strong performance.
- Hybrid inference allows fallback to cloud services for unsupported devices (e.g., mobile) using polyfills or Firebase AI Logic.
- The
Summarizer APIcan generate headlines and SEO-friendly meta descriptions; used by trAIlblazers for blog editors and Drupal for CKEditor SEO tags. - The
Prompt APIsupports structured output via JSON Schema for tasks like tag generation and comment moderation; Yahoo! Japan uses it for community comment moderation. - With multimodal input, the
Prompt APIcan generate accessible alt-text and captions from images. WriterandRewriter APIsenable expanding bullet points and changing text tone.- The
Translator APIfacilitates instant content translation (e.g., English to Spanish/Japanese) for creators. - Trip.com uses AI overviews for complex flight booking navigation.
- A starter blog template by Build Awesome (formerly Eleventy) is available, showcasing these AI features.
Decoder
- Polyfill: A piece of code (or plugin) that provides the functionality of a modern web feature to older browsers that do not natively support it.
Original article
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Thomas Steiner
This post is a write-up of the talk given at Google I/O 2026 by Thomas Steiner.
Imagine building a travel blog where the blog post editor doesn't just store the text, but where it actively supports you when writing. Meet Maya and Ashok, the creators of trAIlblazers. They use built-in AI in Chrome. By running models directly on the user's device, developers bypass expensive cloud costs and latency while keeping sensitive data local.
We've collaborated with Build Awesome (formerly known as Eleventy) to release a blog template with all the AI features listed in the talk.
Why built-in AI?
- Cost-efficient: No cloud inference cost, all computation happens on users' supporting devices.
- Privacy first: Sensitive data never leaves the browser.
- Offline functionality: Once the model is downloaded, AI features work without an internet connection.
- Performance: Hardware acceleration allows on-device models to rival (and sometimes beat) cloud speeds.
- Hybrid inference: Using polyfills and tools like Firebase AI Logic, you can fall back to the cloud on unsupported devices (like mobile) while staying native on desktop.
AI features for modern web apps
The Summarizer API
The trAIlblazers editor uses the Summarizer API to generate headlines and SEO-friendly meta descriptions automatically.
Example: Generate a headline
const blogPost = document.querySelector('.article-body').innerText;
const summarizer = await Summarizer.create({
type: 'headline',
sharedContext: 'Write headlines that make people want to read the blog post',
});
for await (const chunk of summarizer.summarizeStreaming(blogPost)) {
headline.append(chunk);
}
The Prompt API (with structured output)
Need specific data? By using JSON Schema with the Prompt API, you can make the AI return predictable formats. The trAIlblazers team uses this for the following:
- Tag Generation: Suggest categories like "Adventure" or "Beach" from a predefined list.
- Comment Moderation: Classify comments as "Safe" or "Harmful" before they are published.
Media accessibility
The editor automates the "hard parts" of Markdown. When you drop an image, the Prompt API (with multimodal input) analyzes the pixels to generate accessible alt-text and informative captions.
Writing and rewriting
With the Writer and Rewriter APIs, users can expand bullet points into complete paragraphs and change the tone of a paragraph to be "more casual" or "shorter" with a single click.
Seamless translation
The Translator API allows creators to draft content in English and instantly translate it for Spanish or Japanese readers, which native speakers can then refine.
Real-world success stories
Many partners are already shipping these APIs in production. Notable examples include the following:
- Drupal: Uses the Summarizer API for SEO tag generation within CKEditor.
- Yahoo! Japan: Uses the Prompt API for community comment moderation.
- Trip.com: Helps shoppers navigate complex flight booking options with AI overviews.
Resources from the talk
Ready to build your own "trAIlblazers" experience? Check out these resources:
- Starter template: Build Awesome starter-extended-blog (Includes all AI features mentioned in the talk.)
- Documentation: Built-in AI on Chrome for Developers
- TypeScript support: Install
@types/dom-chromium-aion npm. - Google I/O 2025 talk: Practical built-in AI with Gemini Nano in Chrome
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