Mozilla is pushing back hard on Google’s plan to embed its Gemini Nano AI model into Chrome. The Firefox maker warns this move will lock developers and users into Chrome, squeezing competitors out.
The issue started when Google proposed AI-based APIs that let developers run Gemini Nano locally inside Chrome. Mozilla sees this as a way for Google to favor its own AI tech inside the browser, making it harder for rivals to compete.
Mozilla’s stance flipped from waiting to strongly negative last week after talks with Google didn’t lead to any concessions. 
Brian Grinstead, Mozilla’s senior principal engineer, called out the problem bluntly:
"Baking Gemini into Chrome isn’t just a minor technical detail. The browser’s choice of AI model has the potential to make the user experience worse in Firefox and other browsers…"
Google’s Gemini APIs will likely result in apps that only work properly on Chrome, pushing developers to choose Google’s browser just to leverage the AI.
Grinstead added:
"We could try to work around this by shipping Chrome’s built-in model in Firefox, but that’s not how the web platform is meant to work and it points to a broader set of concerns about market competition."
Mozilla stresses developers should be free to pick any AI model. Google shouldn’t be picking favorites.
This isn’t new — browser dominance has shaped web devs before, famously with Internet Explorer in the ’90s and Chrome more recently.
Google fired back through engineer Domenic Denicola, who says the company isn’t trying to pick winners and hopes the community will iron out the issues.
Meanwhile, Mozilla’s Firefox leadership warns this could spark a new kind of browser war centered on AI control.
Firefox SVP Anthony Enzor-DeMeo told The Register:
"I think Mozilla’s mission in terms of privacy and choice is going to be even more important when it comes to AI."
"What I worry a bit about is you’ll have less choice, if everything’s kind of controlled by one entity."
Mozilla is eyeing local AI models that run on-device without sending data to the cloud — a clear jab at Google’s cloud-dependent approach.
The Google Gemini in Chrome saga is just heating up. Expect more battles over how AI and browsers mix — and who gets to call the shots.
