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.

[Blubb55]

Let me just quote the official announcement:

"Regardless of your choice, with Firefox, you’re in control. "

That phrase was repeated countless times already, and wasn't always true. So this time, make it right, stand by it and listen to your community.

I've been using Firefox before it was called Firefox, and using Nightly since it was called "Minefield". So rest assured, I do like having new and also sometimes buggy features. I like to test, I like to tinker. I actually do use AI, but for certain, in its own capsulated tasks. But integrating AI into a browser gives (some, more or less, depending on the level of integration) control to AI, and not the users (otherwise it wouldn't be an assistant, right?). So with that statement alone, AI cannot be integrated into firefox.

Just read news articles, and be slightly informed in the tech industry - "AI" gets strapped on *everything* (be it AI keyboards or even AI computer cases), just to use that buzzword. Especially with the circular investment between Nvidia, openAI, google, intel, AMD and so on, everyone with a basic understanding of markets is seeing parallels to past bubbles. 

tl,dr: while chromium is the new Internet Explorer, stay the one and only true alternative and don't become a mindless copy. Don't chase everything you see on the news blindly, and trust your community. You won't always make everyone happy, but just looking through the comments I couldn't see a single (!) comment saying "more AI in my firefox? yay, keep it comin!"

to make it even more clear: no AI, remove it completely, and if you really must invest some money into AI, make it optional addons. I mean, you're already quite familiar and experience to move core and built in features to external addons...

[antonyh]

I don't want or need AI in a browser. I want and need a fast, effective browser that I can trust not to leak information. It doesn't need any form of conversational or generative AI and it doesn't matter that it's opt-in - it shouldn't be present in the first place. At best this is a plugin/extension, optional to those who want it. I said much the same when you added Pocket and look how that ended, so please stop waiting time and resources on this and get back to the core business of making the best possible browser that is pure in both intent and implementation.

[arxphire]

I am positive but cautious about adding AI capabilities. I think the agentic approach is needed similar to how a search engine was before/still are. Being able to add your own local AI will be of upmost importance for the privacy crowd that probably is your biggest user base today. I do not think it will be possible to not use an AI in the future though.. so I think it is good to be on that train or the adoption of FF will drop to 0 eventually. It has to be done the right way though. The web is changing an FF need to change with it.

[roseng]

No, actually. 'AI' is a political concept that lumps together a bunch of disparate technologies under the ideological banner of a Vibes-Based Tech Fad that investors like and everyone else hates. it is not going to be critical to the future of the internet, and has actively been a massive and unequivocal detriment to everyone hosting their own sites or resources.

[arxphire]

I can see that you obviously have not tried AI and seen the potential. If you did, you would not talk like that. Personally I think it is important the open source world have alternatives to the VC funded solutions. I do use AI for certain stuff and it saves enormous time.. which is why I know things will change. We (all) will be using agents eventually to do stuff for us... and if we do not have good solutions we will use those who are available.

[Baralheia]

I've tried multiple flavors of generative AI. Every single time I have been disappointed. I can recognize the value in some forms of machine learning, like image/pattern recognition, but the slop generators (LLMs and other transformer models) have shown me absolutely *zero* promise and I find them to be anything but trustworthy. They are actively wrecking the Internet and humanity's access to real, truthful information. 

[arxphire]

Yes, I can agree that we live in a post truth society nowadays.. not only because of AI but also politics that do not care for it and invent their own truths. Which is why taking part of this technology and participating is of up most importants. It will come no matter what we think.. the only thing is if we are to trust the VC AI or if we make our own.. 

[Baralheia]

What I'm trying to get at here is generative AI is flawed at a very base level. It's designed to predict and output the most likely sequence of words, but it has zero capability for intelligence or reason. Continuing to use this tech only makes the tech overlords think that we find it useful and bolsters their case for shoving it into every facet of our lives.

The only rational and ethical thing to do is to simply not use them. If users aren't using the tech, then the companies making it can't justify the use case to the money men (because it's still all vc funding right now, none of these things makes money). Starve the hydra.

[arxphire]

I think we are past that.. the pandora box is open so to speak.. for both good and bad. Like fire, it can be used give us warmth but it can also be devastating.

The prediction in LLM's, while not perfect, is good enough.. as pretty much all technology. If we give up or wait too long, the big VC will win. We have to do like Linus and make our own kernel. Without an alternative people will use what is offered.

[Kinetix242]

Oh dear god. "It's being forced on us so you can either fight it or lube up and enjoy." Come on, you sound like an industry apologist or shill.

If certain governments weren't so completely useless in obvious simple regulations (enforcing copyright, anyone?), most of this nonsense would go away in a heartbeat. Environmental protections? Hello?

[arxphire]

No, what I want is an alternative.. so that we dont have to use the lube in the future... Which is what will happen if no alternative comes along.

If you can make a straw man, I can too. You sound like the crowd who want to keep fossil fueled cars. Just because you are used to it doesn't mean it is good.

[arxphire]

Could add that I have been using Linux since 2001 and Mozilla/Netscape longer than so... I was also Google free for a time. I want to be in control. I just have an pragmatic approach to this and can see the benefit. If it is done right.

[MikeTaylor]

Why are you doing this? No-one wants it. How about a bit of leadership, instead of mindlessly following that AI-shareholder shills are telling everyone to do? I used to expect better from Mozilla.

[colin_mcmillen]

Yeah, no, please just stop. If you insist on working on AI, please go back to "some of your latest features", " 💬 AI Chatbot in the sidebar" and "📱 Shake to Summarize on iOS", disable them by default, make everything opt-in. But really please stop shoving this crap down our throats.

[bvibber]

Please remove all "AI" integrations in Firefox. We don't want it, we didn't ask for it, we don't need it, and it hurts Mozilla by wasting development time on garbage instead of fixes and features users need and want.

[darby3]

AI sucks, actually. Stop doing it.

[Dio9sys]

Sitting still while waiting to see how the technology shakes out should be seen as a virtue for a stable browser, not as some kind of sin.

We don't need to be chasing fads and bubbles in a browser.  We just want a browser!

I've used firefox since 2006.  All this AI integration is making me run for the hills.  Whether that be to a firefox fork like Floorp or IronFox or to something like Vivaldi, I don't know.

But please.  For the sake of all that is good, knock it off with the AI integration.  If AI enthusiasts want AI embedded in their browser, you could offer it as a separate release of firefox.  You could have firefox ESR, firefox stable and firefox with AI.  As it is, none of the normal firefox users want this feature because we don't want AI to summarize a website that we willingly opened up and want to read, and none of the AI evangelists I know are using this because they prefer to run their own MCP and feed it browser-agnostic content.

A browser does not need to be focused on moving fast and breaking things.  A browser should be focused on stability and adopting well-vetted, mature standards and tools that are directly related to the act of browsing the web.

With that said, Thunderbird is a fantastic mozilla project, and I've loved to see the renewed resources and energy going into it.  Even if you keep AI in firefox, please do not add it to thunderbird.

[WilsonOW]

NO. We do not want this. Stop, please.

[PMinaler]

Stop it! All I want is a browser without any clutter.

[beryllium]

Please, I beg of you, do this one thing that will make all of your AI efforts MUCH less offensive to the community:

Use your existing Extension/Add-Ons infrastructure to make AI stuff truly opt-in. Users should have to choose to install AI extensions, just like they have to choose to install something like UBlock Origin or "Nook" (an addon that plays animal crossing themes on-the-hour).

In addition to properly firewalling the browser from this functionality, the download/installation/uptake statistics will provide you with true insight into how popular and in-demand the functionality is.

[mathilda]

I have been around since the Netscape web browser, yet I never participated in the Mozilla community until now: please stop with this artificial "intelligence" (AI) bull**bleep**. Literally nobody wants it besides techbros and lunatic CEOs.

[Anonymous]

Same here. First Navigator, then Firefox. And been using it ever since because of its core values. I downloaded LibreWolf right now. I cannot use a browser integrating energy-wasting, climate-changing stupidifiers and look the children I teach in the eyes every day. LLMs are immoral. Shame on Mozilla for adding this nonsense to a browser pretending to stand for the open web! There is nothing open about LLMs.

[nativeit]

I think it’d be a great idea if everyone who thought this was a good idea were all sacked.

Mozilla’s leadership have lost all credibility and are irreparably out-of-touch with their own user base. Shape that. 

[JaneSmith]

I'm already desperately looking for a replacement browser for firefox in order to be free of AI slop and not be complicit in the destruction of our environment with that much water and power consumption.

[nimu]

I've just learned here that there is a new browser named Servo being built 🙂

[nimu]

Also, there are some forks too, such as LibreWolf (which I've been using since I heard about Mozilla deciding to add these AI features).

[JustSomeUser]

Hello, I've registered an account specifically to let you know I am fed up with AI features that nobody asked for being shoe-horned into every corner of the software I use. My dissatisfaction with Firefox grows with each unwelcome AI feature I have to squash and I will be spending a lot of time going forward looking for an alternative browser.

Thanks for ruining a good thing I guess.

[sny]

Since you "want feedback", and literally 99% of responses ask you to not add this "feature" to Firefox, I'm sure you'll listen to said feedback. After all, it would be ridiculous to ask and then just flat out discard all responses.

Right?

[clayote]

If it's "full control," why isn't it in an extension?

We can tell that you're chasing investor money. Whatever, you've got to eat, but leave regular users out of it.

[theelous3]

1. No

2. No

3. If we get AI tabs in firefox before the ability to choose a new tab page on mobile I'm going to eat a montherboard irl.

[pangolin]

I'm still using an ancient version of Firefox for Android and preventing updates because they took out the "Open in regular tab" menu item that showed up in Private Browsing (dead handy if you use the option to automatically open links in private tabs) and then just...never added it back.

[ILostMyName]

Save the planet, spare your developers some time, no AI needed in Firefox.

A long time user, when Firefox was called Phoenix.

[meejah]

Why?

Sprinkling "AI" on everything is *exactly* the thing that will turn your biggest fans away. Chasing the latest scam is wasting resources, wasting everyone's time, and taking away from your own ability to make a great browser. We want an awesome FOSS browser to surf the open web. "AI" is not part of this. Nothing has made me more likely to find a different browser than this (although your flirtation with cryptocurrencies was close)...

Stop it.

[alexismichaud]

@mozilla What a lovely user base you have! Please, please do listen. 
"There's ample historical evidence that "progress" (or "technology moving forward") can and has been stopped or highly restricted. Sometimes standing still is the most sensible thing to do and delivers the greatest benefit."

[Thunderbeans]

For pity's sake, please let this die. AI cannot and will not ever be able to do anything its advocates claim. It's harmful to education, to the environment, to people seeking work, and already making researching anything online nigh on impossible.

You'll be increasing your own operating costs with something that benefits nobody.

I left Google and Chrome precisely because their latching on to this garbage-producing nonsense was the last straw for me. I moved to Firefox specifically because it wasn't entertaining this AI stuff in any way. Do I really need to go hunt down another browser?

[MikeTaylor]

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.

I believe C. S. Lewis's comment on integrating AI into Firefox said it best:

"We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man. There is nothing progressive about being pig-headed and refusing to admit a mistake. And I think if you look at the present state of [AI in Firefox] it's pretty plain that [the Mozilla Foundation] has been making some big mistakes. We're on the wrong road. And if that is so we must go back. Going back is the quickest way on."

[Sherri]

The demographics of users who use Mozilla products is *literally* people trying to escape AI & privacy-hostile tech elsewhere.

How tone-deaf can Mozilla be?

No one wants this.

[SunnyGolds]

If this feature is not easily removable, I along with a large portion of your userbase will be moving away from Firefox.  This is a tremendous misstep by the Mozilla team -- yet another in an increasingly long line of missteps.  

Read the room.

[andy_twosticks]

No. Just no. Nobody who understands what "AI" is wants this, and you are wasting development time and squandering Firefox's reputation by persuing it.

Just stop.

[PsyChuan]

i don't understand why. literally no one wants this. the only people excited about AI are the people selling it and they have a financial interest in it. why are you continually pushing this? you have almost unanimously negative feedback each time you announce more AI features, i can only assume there's someone high up in Mozilla who's fallen for the hype hook line and sinker