Earlier this week, Google unveiled its experimental new browser, "Disco," in Mountain View, California. Using the Gemini 3 model, it helps users transform cluttered pages into interactive web apps, attempting to break the 30-year-old "read-jump" logic. This is seen as a key battle for Google to defend its internet gateway in the AI era.
From "Pagination Stacking" to "Project-Oriented"
Traditional browsers emphasize searching and hyperlinks, while Disco allows users to create "projects" and then drag relevant web pages into them.
Taking the official Japan itinerary planning example below, the system can automatically break down Kyoto attraction information, hotel price comparison pages, and transportation timetables into interactive maps, budget sheets, and itinerary cards, and generate a single dashboard. The process requires no code; users only need to provide intent and materials, and the AI completes the "structured" assembly.
"Ground-based reasoning" combats illusions and sustains traffic.
Unlike ChatGPT and other platforms that provide an answer all at once, Disco insists on linking every UI element back to the original webpage. Chrome Unboxed reports that this "grounded reasoning" binds the model's output to the latest content, reducing illusions and maintaining website visibility.
Google hopes to create a virtuous cycle: humans act as curators selecting pages, while AI acts as engineers assembling applications, achieving new collaborative results.
AI-driven software factory
Going a step further, Disco isn't meant to replace Chrome, but rather as a concept car. Google is using it to test the feasibility of "browsing as creation," responding to the threats posed by OpenAI and Perplexity's attempts to bypass the webpage. Product lead Manini Roy calls it the first step in turning noise into tools.
Parisa Tabriz, a senior executive at Chrome, also mentioned in an internal briefing:
We want to know what the internet will look like when people stop just saving pages and start creating apps.
Next stop: From the laboratory to a billion people
Currently, Disco is only open to users aged 18 and older residing in the United States, and participants must first join the waiting list on the official website. The official team also acknowledged that the model may still have errors. Even so, the industry generally views it as a test run for future Chrome features.
This public experiment with Disco will determine whether browsers continue to serve as information showcases or evolve into AI-driven software factories. Whether it can reshape the market remains to be seen; but what is certain is that in the tug-of-war between AI and the web, Google has provided a new solution to the value of open content.
