Mozilla Firefox is adding new AI features this month, but you’ll have the option to turn them off, according to a Tuesday blog post from Firefox head Ajit Varma.
“AI is changing the web, and people want very different things from it,” Varma wrote in the post. “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 this new post, Varma said many people want nothing to do with AI, so Mozilla will include a button to turn off AI 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, will go 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 permeates the internet nowadays, and the new version of the Firefox browser with AI features joins other leading browsers that have decided to integrate AI. Apple’s Safari and Microsoft’s Edge both offer AI features.
Firefox embraces AI
With around 200 million active monthly users, Firefox, which is run by the Mozilla Foundation, is by far the largest nonprofit-backed internet browser. When the updated version of Firefox rolls out this month, people will find a new menu in the settings with toggles for each AI feature, allowing them to turn on and off any or all AI options.
Erik Avakian, a technical counselor at Info-Tech Research Group and the former chief information security officer for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, says Mozilla’s decision to add AI controls indicates it understands how much AI changes Firefox from a privacy and trust perspective.
“It validates that AI browser features, even assistive ones, can introduce real privacy, security, and compliance considerations,” Avakian says. “The difference is that Mozilla is choosing to introduce and implement these types of controls early, while others are forcing the conversation by moving fast with AI and breaking trust.”
This new Firefox will include AI in regular internet browsing in several ways. The toggles for users that Varma mentions in his post can turn off AI for language translation, PDF alt text, tab grouping suggestions, link preview summaries, and the sidebar chatbot, which also allows people to select a specific chatbot, such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot or Google Gemini.
In a July blog post, Mozilla AI product leader Jolie Huang outlined Firefox’s stance concerning AI and emphasized a privacy-first focus. Huang laid out the AI features coming to Firefox and also wrote about privacy, a key feature of the browser for a long time.
“Our ongoing commitment to privacy-preserving AI drives us to continuously develop and enhance features that respect and protect your personal information,” Huang wrote. “At Firefox, AI is about creating a smarter, more intuitive browsing experience that boosts productivity without sacrificing privacy.”
You can try out the AI features early using Firefox Nightly, the in-development version of Firefox that is less stable and updated daily.
