Google Chrome's New 'Skills' Feature Turns AI Prompts into One-Click Tools

Google is introducing a new layer of automation to its Chrome browser. Announced Tuesday, a feature called 'Skills' lets users save and instantly reuse specific AI prompts across different websites, moving beyond one-off queries.

The tool builds on the existing Gemini AI integration within Chrome. While Gemini can already summarize pages or answer questions, Skills allows for the creation of personalized, repeatable commands. A common example: instead of repeatedly asking for vegan recipe substitutions, a user can save that exact request as a Skill and apply it with a single click on any cooking site.

To create a Skill, users save a prompt from their Gemini chat history. Later, typing a forward slash (/) or clicking a plus button in the Gemini sidebar lets them activate that saved Skill on the current webpage. Google says early testers have used it for tasks like comparing products, calculating nutritional information, or condensing long documents.

A new Skills library will offer pre-built prompts for common activities in shopping, productivity, and budgeting, which users can adopt and modify. As with other Gemini actions, Skills will request user confirmation before performing steps like sending an email.

The rollout starts today for desktop Chrome users signed into a Google account, with initial availability limited to browsers set to US English. This update arrives as AI-powered browsing tools from OpenAI, Perplexity, and others gain attention, signaling a shift toward more persistent, workflow-oriented AI assistance directly within the browser.

Source: TechCrunch