Google Gemini can now click, scroll, and type in your browser

By Matthew Griffin Robo Revolution 1st October 2025

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

Automation is coming to everyone’s desktop and that’s good and bad.

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In news that’s wonderful for anyone who wants to automate their desktop work, and hackers who are finding new ways to take over your computer and destroy your life, Google is previewing a new Gemini Artificial Intelligence (AI) model designed to navigate and interact with the web via a browser, letting AI agents do things inside interfaces designed for use by people and not robots. The model, called Gemini 2.5 Computer Use, uses “visual understanding and reasoning capabilities” to analyze a user’s request and carry out a task, such as filling out and submitting a form.

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It can be used for UI testing or navigating interfaces made for people who don’t have an API or other direct connection available. Other versions of this model have been used for agentic features in AI Mode and Project Mariner, a research prototype that uses AI agents to carry out tasks on its own in a browser, like adding items to your cart based on a list of ingredients.

See it in action

Google’s announcement comes just one day after OpenAI revealed new apps for ChatGPT as part of its annual Dev Day, and continues to focus its attention on its ChatGPT Agent feature that can complete complex tasks on your behalf. Meanwhile, Anthropic had already released a version of its Claude AI model with “computer use” last year.

Google posted some demo videos which you can see here showing its computer use tool in action, and notes that they are sped up 3x.

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Google says its computer use model “outperforms leading alternatives on multiple web and mobile benchmarks.” Unlike ChatGPT Agent and Anthropic’s computer use tool, Google’s new AI model only has access to a browser — not an entire computer environment. Google notes that it shows “it is not yet optimized for desktop OS-level control” and currently supports 13 actions, including opening a web browser, typing text, as well as dragging and dropping elements.

Gemini 2.5 Computer Use is available to developers through Google AI Studio and Vertex AI, but there’s also a demo on Browserbase, where you watch as it completes tasks, like “Play a game of 2048” or “Browse Hacker News for trending debates.”

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Described by NASA as a "Walking Encyclopaedia of the Future" and one of the world’s most in demand keynote speakers Matthew Griffin, Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm, is a multi-award winning Futurist and strategic foresight expert, author, lecturer, mentor, podcast and YouTube host.

With a distinguished career running global business units at Atos, EMC, and IBM today Matthew helps leaders and titans of industry from all over the world explore the impact of the inter sections of technology, culture, and leadership, then helps them create high performance organisations that can continuously disrupt, outpace, and outthink their competition.

15 times author of the hit series the Codex of the Future series Matthew's ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends on global business, culture, and society has earned him a powerful reputation and a roster of clients that include royal households, world leaders across the G7, G20, and G77, and many of the world's most recognised and exceptional organisations including ABB, Accenture, ABN Amro, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi Group, Coca Cola, Deloitte, Dentons, Disney, Dow, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Microsoft, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Nokia, Paramount, PepsiCo, PWC, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, T-Mobile, UBS, Visa, WIRED, WPP and hundreds of others.

Matthew is regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, and his mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.