With the Firefox 148 update, the company will let users choose which AI features they want enabled in the browser.
Mozilla Firefox users will also be able to opt out of future AI features
Photo Credit: Mozilla
Mozilla Firefox is adding a new capability to give users more control of the artificial intelligence (AI) features they see in the browser. The company has announced that with the next update, slated for later this month, the Firefox browser will feature a centralised control centre that will let users pick and choose which AI features they want enabled on the app and which ones they do not want to see. Additionally, the settings will also let users entirely opt out of generative AI features, including the ones the company releases in the future.
In a blog post, Mozilla announced and detailed the new AI control centre for its Firefox browser. One of the major pain points for users in the age of AI browsers is the lack of control over whether they want the AI features or not. Most of the time, the AI features are enabled by default without any choice for the user. So, the side-panel chatbot or the auto translation feature is visible at all times, even if a user decides never to use them.
Mozilla is changing this with the Firefox 148 update for desktop, which will be rolled out on February 24. With this, users will now see a centralised AI control hub, which will let users pick and choose the AI features they want enabled on the app, and the ones they want disabled. Additionally, users can also choose to block all generative AI features if they prefer the traditional experience. Mozilla said that selecting that option will also automatically disable any future AI releases as well.
Initially, the control centre will let users either enable or block five main features. These include Translations, Alt text in PDFs, AI-enhanced tab grouping, Link previews, and an AI chatbot in the sidebar. The latter acts as an assistant across the browser, and lets users choose from Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and Mistral's Le Chat as their preferred chatbot.
“We believe choice is more important than ever as AI becomes a part of people's browsing experiences. What matters to us is giving people control, no matter how they feel about AI,” the company said.
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