Google’s AI Mode update lets you open links without leaving the page

The split-view feature isn't just a UX convenience: it represents Google embedding AI Mode more deeply into the browsing session itself, making the browser the persistent AI interface rather than a tab you visit. That's a meaningful architectural choice, not a minor update.

This is the third piece of Chrome AI Mode coverage to land on the same day. Wired's 'Google's AI Mode Update Tries to Kill Tab Hopping in Chrome' framed the same rollout around session persistence, while TechCrunch emphasized the side-by-side comparison angle. Reading them together, it's clear Google is running a coordinated feature narrative across outlets rather than announcing a single discrete capability. Separately, the 'Skills' feature covered via Ars Technica on April 14 shows Google layering reusable prompt infrastructure into Chrome at the same time, suggesting the browser is being rebuilt incrementally as a Gemini delivery surface. These moves collectively tighten Google's control over the search-to-answer loop in a way that has real implications for publishers whose traffic depends on users actually clicking through.

Watch whether Google extends split-view to mobile Chrome within the next two quarters. If it does, the session-persistence strategy stops being a desktop edge case and starts threatening the core tab-switching behavior that drives a meaningful share of mobile search traffic.