Mozilla is sounding the alarm over Google’s new Prompt API, a feature in Chrome that allows websites to send natural language instructions directly to a built-in AI model like Gemini Nano. The core concern is that this move prioritizes Chrome-specific functionality over cross-browser standards, potentially forcing developers to optimize sites exclusively for Google’s proprietary AI engine. If this becomes a market standard, competitors like Apple and Mozilla could be pressured into licensing Google’s models just to ensure their users experience the web correctly.
This shift toward on-device AI integration risks fragmenting the internet by making high-quality web experiences dependent on a specific browser's infrastructure. While built-in AI offers speed and privacy benefits, Mozilla argues it creates a “closed loop” where web predictability is tied to a single vendor's technology. This pressure could dismantle the neutral, open-access nature of the web, turning a shared digital space into a platform dictated by those who own the most dominant AI models.
