The Chrome team at Google is testing an entirely new web browser with the ambition of redefining how people interact with the internet. The promising project is called Disco, and its idea is to expand the traditional browser tab into a flexible framework for building small, personalized apps on the spot based on what the user asks for. Developed as an experimental project inside Google Labs, the Disco browser blends the familiar browsing experience with the power of generative AI through a feature the company calls GenTabs.
GenTabs and How Disco Changes Web Browsing
Disco began as a project in a Google hackathon and has since grown into a complete prototype. Its goal is to explore what browsing would look like if every search query worked as an interactive workspace instead of simply returning a list of links. Parisa Tabriz, who leads the Chrome team, told The Verge that the project is not meant to replace or compete with the current Chrome browser. Instead, it serves as a test of how people might interact with a more adaptable browser that focuses on solving specific tasks.
Tabriz was clear that she does not see Disco as a general-purpose browser meant to serve every need. Its main purpose goes well beyond opening online tabs; it aims to create a personalized, carefully curated app for the user. At the core of the Disco browser is GenTabs, short for "generated tabs." Unlike traditional tabs, which only display static web content, GenTabs are interfaces built by Google's Gemini AI models.
Specifically, the Gemini 3 model introduced the ability to create interactive elements such as buttons, maps, and sliders in real time. The Disco browser makes full use of this ability as the foundation of its browsing experience: when a user enters a prompt, the browser doesn't just open relevant web pages but also automatically builds a small web app designed around that specific task.
Hands-On With Instant App Creation
In a live demo observed by The Verge, Manini Roy, who runs an innovation lab within the Chrome organization, showed how the interface works. In Disco's sidebar, she launched what Google calls a "project," essentially a self-contained workspace that combines a chat interface with a set of traditional web tabs.
When she entered a request to plan a trip to Japan, the system opened a series of tabs containing relevant travel sources. Interestingly, it then offered to create a custom planning tool. Within a minute, Gemini had assembled a browser-based app that showed a map of Japan annotated with sights to visit, a simple itinerary builder, and links to all the data sources referenced in the open tabs. As Roy added new places during her research, GenTabs automatically updated to reflect the latest information.
According to Roy, the goal of this approach is to encourage users not only to passively consume AI-generated results but also to help shape them through their own exploration. Early feedback suggests the approach leads people to spend more time engaging with real websites rather than being confined to a chatbot interface, a limitation that has reduced the usefulness of many recent AI-integrated browsers.
In another striking demonstration, Roy asked how the ankle works. Instead of returning a dry text answer, Disco opened several reputable medical sources and also generated a rough interactive 3D model of the human foot to illustrate. For a cross-state move scenario, the AI created a workspace that included packing tips, a weight calculator, and a cost comparison table of moving companies. Each GenTab also supports iterative refinement through additional prompts or manual edits.
The Future of Disco and Google's Approach to Experimentation
Still, the experiment also raises questions about the true nature of GenTabs. The team has not yet decided whether these generated tabs should exist as full web apps with shareable URLs or disappear when a project is closed. Users have asked for both permanent and temporary options, as well as the ability to export data from GenTabs to existing productivity platforms, including Google Workspace tools such as Docs and Sheets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-rAE40ggbc
Both Tabriz and Roy acknowledged that Disco's future is uncertain. For now, it remains an experiment within Google Labs rather than a product with an official release scheduled. Even so, the Chrome team sees it as an important test of how browsers and AI systems can merge while keeping users closely connected to the open web. Ultimately, the Disco browser may signal a subtle but important shift from consuming static content to interactive creation. For now, it serves as an experimental "stepping stone" for what may come next in Chrome and AI-based web interactions.
