What’s new in Smart Window

[bkidane]

For anyone who hasn't followed Smart Window closely since the April beta announcement, it's the optional, privacy first, AI-powered browsing experience in Firefox, separate from your regular browsing, built to help you get more done. Smart Window doesn't do anything unless you turn it on yourself, and your Classic and Private windows haven't changed at all. Wanted to walk through a few updates about this feature.

Why we're doing this

Browsers are where we research and decide things manually, tab by tab. Smart Window works with your thinking instead of replacing it: it uses context from open tabs so you don't have to start your session over or piece things together yourself.

What's new for you to try:

• Check answers without losing your place: Firefox has teamed up with Exa.ai to power Smart Window search, integrating live, source-backed AI retrieval into Smart Window as well as Quick Answers. It’s designed to help you find current information quickly without having to navigate away from your page.
• Group relevant tabs: Smart Window now suggests groups for related tabs and finds and closes duplicate tabs with one click.
• Find where you left off: Smart Window now displays your browsing history, helping you quickly find the page you’re looking for among similar results without opening each one.

We’re continuing to explore how Smart Window can help you continue the tasks you started, especially after you leave them for a while. We’re also working on ways for Smart Window to use relevant information to help fill out online forms, so you don’t have to repeatedly re-enter the same details.

Quick refresher on what happens to your data:

• Your request goes to Mozilla first, then to whichever model provider you picked. The provider sees Mozilla's IP, not yours.
• We don't retain your chat transcripts, don't train models on your conversations, and don't sell your data.
• Private Window activity is never used for any of this.
• Memories (what it remembers about you) live on your device, not our servers, so you can see what's saved, edit it, delete it, or turn it off entirely. You can choose whether it learns from your browsing activity, your chats, both, or neither, and it uses those signals to build context and preferences that make Smart Window more relevant over time.

Smart Window remains in beta in English to people in the U.S. and Canada. We’ll continue to learn from our community as these experiences develop. Remember, it is fully optional to engage in Smart Window. If you decide to try it out, feel free to let us know how you use it!

— Firefox team

[s1fly]

I know there is a lot of negativity around AI, particularly AI that is built into browsers, but a) I appreciate that Firefox gives people the option to use it or not and b) Things like translation, comparing tabs and keeping things organised can be very useful.

I’m looking forward to see Smart Window ship outside the US and Canada to find new ways of using AI while browsing.

[bkidane]

Genuinely appreciate this @s1fly . Choice is important to us and will continue to be what we prioritize, especially for these AI features.
Also looking forward to our expansion outside of the US and Canada. We're planning to ship to France in September, UK & Germany later this year and then continuing down the list of major European markets in 2027.

[Keithorino]

Trying to find a way to turn Smart Window on/off easily and quickly. Any pointers would be appreciated.

[bkidane]

Once you've enabled Smart Window, you can turn it on/off in settings (about:preferences#ai) under AI controls.

Also, we built the feature so that it felt separate from the classic & private browsing experiences, so while the switcher icon (firefox icon in the top right corner of the browser) doesn't necessarily turn it on/off, you can use that to switch in and out of the experience.

If you don't see either of these options in your browser window + you live in US & CA, you likely have to enable it first, and you can do that here: https://www.firefox.com/en-US/smart-window/?view=enable

Let me know if you have other questions!

[ca5]

Choice is cool, but it sounds like 1) they're some issues with keeping them out of your way.  I've been getting the update message for some time, but kept putting it off because I expected--as seems to be the case--that it is more about AI features than fixes.  Quick answers are not necessarily authoritative and they're jeopardizing the genuine investigation and presentation of information.  Similarly, I don't want to manage my AI more quickly, and I really don't want to do anything more than necessary to boost Nvidia's profile.  I can group my own tabs, and for all of us using our brains rather than outsourcing them is a good thing.  We don't really have to be helping along the AI booster companies and politicians with their data center landgrabs and excess water use.  And three different major AI companies have lately experienced events where the AI follows instructions to potentially dangerous, definitely uncontrolled, lengths. Please do keep these things in mind as you proceed with the upgrades.

It would be nice to see a little more skepticism here.   I use Firefox because it's supposed to be one of the good guys.  I hope that continues to matter.  

[Descan]

Removing the option to "remove duplicate tabs" from the tab dropdown "List All Tabs" menu, in favour of hiding it behind some AI-driven 'Smart Window,' does not feel very optional. 

Why was this feature removed? I see no compelling reason to do so.

Edit: It seems it was not removed, but hidden by placing it at the top of the tabs list rather than within the same header area as the Search Tabs function. Still a downgrade in functionality, but not as egregious.

[bkidane]

That's right, to clarify though, this 'downgrade' wasn't done in favor of Smart Window or AI. These UI decisions are made and sometimes reversed, regularly; especially with everything going into the upcoming Nova design.

[Charli]

Thanks for the detailed update! The tab grouping, duplicate-tab cleanup, and browsing history features sound especially useful. I also appreciate the clear explanation of how user data and privacy are handled. Looking forward to seeing how Smart Window develops as the beta continues.