Google has announced that Chrome’s enhanced autofill can now pull information straight from Gmail to fill in online forms. The work is done by Gemini with Personal Intelligence, the feature that lets the assistant use data from connected Google services. For now the rollout is limited to the United States.
What changes in practice
Until now, Chrome’s autofill was limited to data saved in the browser: name, address, card number. With the new feature, when a field asks for information that sits in an old email, Chrome can suggest it on its own. Google gives three examples: order numbers, tracking information for a shipment and flight bookings.
The typical case is an online shop’s support form. Normally you have to open your mail, search for the purchase confirmation, copy the code and go back to the page. Here the code already appears among the suggestions in the autofill menu, with a “Suggested by Gemini” label showing where it comes from.
Privacy and controls
The sensitive point is obvious: the browser reads your email. Google says sensitive data is encrypted and that the user stays in control. In practice, you can delete a single suggestion or switch enhanced autofill off entirely from Chrome’s settings. It is not a feature that is on for everyone: you need to use Gemini in Chrome and have enabled Personal Intelligence, so there is already an explicit choice upstream.
Where and when
The rollout has begun in the United States, on desktop, Android and iOS, for those who have Gemini in Chrome with Personal Intelligence turned on. Google has given no dates for Italy or Switzerland. If the feature does reach Europe, it will probably have to go through data protection rules: that is our own observation, not information given by the company.
Who it’s for
For people who shop online a lot, handle returns and complaints or book flights, the time saving is real, if small. For those who already use Chrome on several devices, the advantage is that the suggestion appears in the same way on computer and phone. Anyone who doesn’t want the browser touching their mail can simply leave Personal Intelligence off.
On the related-content front, the integration of Gemini into the browser has been going on for months: we also covered it with the vertical tabs in Chrome and Google Messages’ scam protections.
What we think
It is a useful feature, but it neatly shows where Google is heading: the assistant no longer lives in a separate tab, it enters everyday actions and links different products from the company. The upside is convenience. The questionable side is that its value depends on how willing you are to give a browser access to your inbox.
We think it is right that it is opt-in and that suggestions are visible and can be removed one by one. It remains to be seen how accurate the suggestions are, though: a wrong order number on a refund form wastes more time than it saves. Until it is available in Italy, the most sensible course is to watch how it works in the United States and decide later, especially if you use work accounts with confidential emails.
Written by the SpazioiTech newsroom with the help of AI tools, from facts verified across at least two independent outlets, and checked before publication. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Translated from the Italian original. Read in Italian
