Google gives all Chromebooks huge AI boost with a barrage of features

Google has tripled down on AI by rolling out a huge number of features for Chromebooks. Having also announced two new back-to-school Chromebooks this week, Google is clearly betting big with AI-driven tools on its Chromebook range.

Chromebooks Plus laptops will sport exclusive AI-based features, with Google announcing a number of tools that will roll out this month.

New AI tools on Chromebook Plus

Chromebook Plus users will soon get access to Live Translate captions for video content – such as Zoom meetings or YouTube clips – in over 100 languages. Google touted this as an education aid, suggesting that it will work equally well for a video posted “to Google Classroom or a video in a research article online”.

There are two further tools aimed at educators.

Help me read is an AI-enabled feature that creates one-click summaries of content such as PDFs or articles. It can also respond to readers’ questions about the material.

Its Help me write tool works in a similar manner. Students can right-click on any text box and the AI tool will provide suggestions on ways to improve their writing. It can also adjust the tone of writing and – a little weirdly – add emojis.

Then there’s Quick Insert. This works in tandem with the Quick Insert key, debuted on the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus. Tapping this key reveals a mini menu full of suggestions, such as adding Drive files, GIFs and URLs.

Google says its AI-powered Recorder app will “easily capture audio, thoughts and notes”. It claims the tool can detect and label speakers, along with creating a summary of the content.

The final enhancement comes to video calls, with the promise of enhanced video and audio.

Google Chromebook AI tools for all

Chromebooks – whether Plus or not – also now have Chat with Gemini installed, to enable users to converse with Google’s own-brand AI. This means you don’t need to head to your browser to activate Gemini, with Google promising that “it’s a click away” at all times.

The latest version of Chrome OS also brings Welcome Recap. This loads up when you log back into your account and provides a “visual overview of where you last were across any device and helpful suggestions to get you started”. Even as we write that, we can hear Marvin from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy saying “sounds ghastly”, but hopefully it won’t be as annoying as it sounds.

We’re bigger fans of Focus. Activate this, set a time limit and “soundscape” or YouTube Music playlist, and Google promises it will cut out all extraneous notifications.

To emphasis Google’s push to AI tools, it hopes to hook Chromebook users with more Gemini features via its One AI Premium Plan. This is free for three months with new Chromebooks, but costs £18.99 per month in the UK, $19.99 in the USA and $32.99 in Australia.

This article features additional reporting from Jo Best.