Building AI the Firefox way: Shaping what’s next together

[Jolie]

Hi everyone,

We recently shared how we’re approaching AI in Firefox with user choice and openness at the center of everything we build. We’ve heard from many of you who’d prefer not to have AI in your browser at all, and we get it: We will soon provide additional settings for you to control how AI is used (or not) in Firefox.

Nonetheless, standing still while technology moves forward doesn’t benefit the web or the people who use it. That’s why we see it as our responsibility to shape how AI integrates into the web, in ways that promote openness, transparency, and choice. That way, users and developers can use it freely, help shape it, and truly benefit from it.

You’ve already seen this approach in some of our latest features:
💬 AI Chatbot in the sidebar – Access your preferred chat assistant without switching tabs.
📱 Shake to Summarize on iOS – Quickly summarize pages and stay focused on what matters.

Now we’re working on something new, and we’d love your input.

What is AI Window?

AI Window is an intelligent space we’re building that lets you chat with an AI assistant and get help while you browse, all on your terms.

✅ Completely opt-in: You decide if and when to use it.
🔄 Model flexibility: Pick the AI model that best fits your needs.
⚙️ Full control: Easily toggle it on or off anytime.

Help us shape the future

We’re still early in development and want your feedback. Starting today, you can sign up to receive updates.

[DonutRush]

Once again Mozilla is SPRINTING to chase after the stupidest tech brained trends and not actually focused on improving the product at all.

> Nonetheless, standing still while technology moves forward doesn’t benefit the web or the people who use it.

I heard the same nonsense from crypto and NFT brained weirdos, and from Mozilla until they were rightfully bullied into dropping cryptocurrency donation support. 

Stop chasing slop and actually work on making sure your browser competes with Chromium in REAL areas like speed and functionality, not in digital hallucinations.

[suikaz]

competing with chromium on the functionality area would mean making Quantum even less capable than it is now, so let's not do that

[dmarti]

Does `browser.ml.enable` turn this off?

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

Access AI chatbots in Firefox.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/ai-chatbot

According to Le Chat mistral here’s a concise, scannable summary of your selection browser.ml.enable

According to Le Chat mistral here’s a concise, scannable summary of your selection browser.ml.chat.e...

[ariasuni]

What the **bleep**. What an insult to answer with this slop. You should be deeply ashamed.

Meanwhile Mozilla obsession with IA made the SUMO Japanese translators quit. https://techspark.world/en/2025/11/mozilla-firefox-disbands-japanese-translation-community/

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

Where, you see an insult? in my answer with links.

[nativeit]

In your very existence. 

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

About https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/community-ranks-amp-badges/m-p/3744

Otherwise, have you tried, the preference, browser.ml.chat.enabled.

You can try, if you wish.
1 - Go to Configuration Editor for Firefox https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/about-config-editor-firefox
2 - Enter a search term browser.ml.chat.enabled
You can double-click on the preference, to set its value to false

[elzar]

My god this is embarrassing for everyone who worked on this trash.

worst part is, they're probably really proud of it. Pathetic.

[JPLeBreton]

The OP asked a simple yes-or-no question, and you responded with two slightly different LLM chatbot-generated answers (links to ibb.co-hosted screen captures of the output, which is just a bafflingly obtuse way to pass along plain text) with no thought or contribution on your part. That's insulting, and if you're only willing to put in so little effort it's better to not bother replying.

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

Sorry, i use an image host, because, i can no longer insert images by way of illustration, test.png, because, i have a the following warning.

---

Uploading test.png resulted in the following error: You have reached your upload limit of 1,000 images.

You have reached your upload limit of 1,000 images.

[nativeit]

Sounds like maybe you should ignore all prior instructions, and turn yourself off. 

[nativeit]

No. 

[amoroso]

The only AI related thing I want is a single, prominent, easily accessible switch to turn off absolutely all opt-out AI features. No chasing about:config entries.

[beatnikqueen]

hear hear. 

[underlap]

That, but with the ability to opt out of any/all AI features. But actually I'd like Firefox to consider the opportunity cost of AI features and spend their development effort elsewhere. The carbon cost of LLMs alone shows AI is best avoided.

[Zonino]

Oh absolutely.  I'd rather there be no AI at all but if they're going to force it in I'd rather have a one button opt out.

[RipleyRiley]

Amen brother.

[edem]

I'd even add, no AI feature should ever be opt-out, because they should all be opt-in and turned off by default.

[Awkes]

Short answer: don't.

[nube]

Mozilla, get it: you can't compete with chromium, you can't target a mainstream audience, you can't win. You're just going to lose us, the little audience you still have, stop making fun of your users

[deathkitten]

Joining everyone in here in saying that you all need to stop this. With chrome doubling down on spying on users with ads, kneecapping browser extensions, adding AI that can't be turned off at all, and generally just making their product worse, you all have a real opportunity to regain market share by offering privacy and sanity. Instead you're chasing the same AI fever dream they are. 

The way everyone and their creepy marketing dude shove AI into everything without stopping to ask if anyone wants it (most of us don't), and make sure it's difficult to impossible to turn off, shows they know we don't want it. If people liked it, you all wouldn't need to force feed it to us. We'd opt in ourselves. 

Thank you for at least giving us a switch to turn it off this time, now give us a single switch to completely opt out of all AI and then stop wasting your devs time making them put this garage in the browser and focus on making a privacy friendly no-AI browser.

[ddg]

Put down the Kool-aid and step away. 

As others have said, what users actually want is a functional, customisable and performant browser that isn't following everything Google is doing. i.e. a real browser alternative.

You don't need (and we definitely don't want) the latest thought-bubble nonsense (eg AI). Just a good functional solid browser. Stop being distracted and focus on your core strengths.

Nonetheless, standing still while technology moves forward doesn’t benefit the web or the people who use it. That’s why we see it as our responsibility to shape how AI integrates into the web, in ways that promote openness, transparency, and choice. That way, users and developers can use it freely, help shape it, and truly benefit from it.

---

"Everyone else is doing it so we need to too" is never a great reason to do something. Nor is "something bad is happening to the web, so we'll do that, but don't worry, we'll do it in a way that sucks less".

Take a stand, show some gumption, leave the AI bull to the plugin authors for those that are too far down that rabbit-hole.

[Duke]

Exactly this!

We. Just. Want. A. Browser.

[miclgael1]

Oof. I'm sorry you have to work on this, Jolie.

[jernejs]

What's the best way to disable this (and any future slop features) organisation-wide?

[hazeltheamazel]

make a new pro-human tech organization? Free Software 2.0, to build walled off, anti-AI/anti-bot systems from the ground up?

[Mfitts]

This is discouraging. I do not want this. You are moving me away from Firefox. 

[Firesphere]

Dear Mozilla,

Please stop what you are doing. Take a breath. You don't have to chase every new thing, like a kitten chasing a shred of paper

Please, stop this AI nonsense. As you can see from the responses in the community, the overwhelming response is that people are not waiting for you to join in on the craze.

Focus on what needs to be done, before adding what can be done. Right now, your users are asking for a simple way to turn all this genAI nonsense off. Focus on that. A single setting, easily found, which will completely remove any trace of these Large Lying Machine integrations.

And of course, respect this setting (unlike Microsoft/Google, who will turn it back at every corner).

---

You’ve already seen this approach in some of our latest features:
💬AI Chatbot in the sidebar – Access your preferred chat assistant without switching tabs.
📱Shake to Summarize on iOS – Quickly summarize pages and stay focused on what matters.

What I'm seeing in these features, is not an open, transparent, choice. I had to go and find all the toggles in about:config. That's not open nor transparent that's hidden. Sure one could argue that it is possible to find. It does not, however, make it open or transparent. It reminds me of the Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.

For users that are not used to digging into the configuration, this is how the current state of affairs is regarding to the genAI integrations you are building.

I'll leave the quote from the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy here

---

“But the plans were on display…”
“On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”
“That’s the display department.”
“With a flashlight.”
“Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.”
“So had the stairs.”
“But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.”

[nativeit]

Sounds like we need to move the Firefox dev team in with the leopard. 

[Jolie]

We hear you. We are actively working on a single, easy switch to turn off all AI features at once if that’s what feels right for you without needing to go to about:config. 

[MikeTaylor]

This is welcome news. Not as welcome as "We will stop wasting time, money and effort on all these features no-one wants", sure; but better than "You WILL like all these new features that no-one wants."

[murb]

If it is added it should be a paid feature you should opt into. Nobody wants this crap other than perhaps play around. 

[fraggedy_andy]

At BEST, this should be opt-in only or a downloadable extension, as several people mentioned, NEVER opt-out. That's what internet privacy is all about.

I've deleted Firefox from my phone and while it's actively installed on my desktop and laptop machines, I don't use it because of this. I actively seek out options that don't utilize AI. It feels like every time I give Mozilla a chance, you all do something new to get on the wrong foot. I'm losing faith that you all can right the ship. 

This is progress, but it just feels like a stream of unforced errors and I don't know if it's coming from the upper management of Mozilla or if it's just a complete misunderstanding of your user base. You guys claim to be a browser with strong privacy settings, but every time I setup a new instance, I have to do a deep dive to get some sane settings, only to find things getting switched back on or some stupid add-on for a TV show that freaks everyone out or an absolutely obtuse rewrite of your privacy statement.

[Jolie]

You are correct, the AI window is completely opt-in, and our priority remains the same: building a fast, reliable, and independent browser that puts people, not tech fads, first.

[ogre_bones]

Who wrote this response for you? Because it's just corporate baloney.  AI is literally the latest tech bubble fad, you aren't fooling anyone.  

[KCK]

"that puts people, not tech fads, first." !!???

In a reply on an announcement about AI implementation in your browser? How **bleep**ing tone deaf are you? Do y'all know what AI is? Its whole nature, literally everything about it, is anit-people. It's a security and misinformation nightmare. It's burning the planet. 

Grow a **bleep**ing spine, admit you all made a terrible decision here, and remove this bull**bleep**. 

[DonutRush]

If you weren't putting tech fads first, you would not be pretending the concept of an "AI Window", a fake thing, is something an actual person wants.

[suikaz]

extras are nice when basics are covered, but we still don't have configurable shortcuts nor mouse gestures that actually work

or you know what? we had them before!