Google wants to put more AI in Chromebooks - and it's using Android to help it

(Image credit: Google)

Google is planning to revamp ChromeOS by bringing in chunks of its Android OS to boost the desktop operating system’s capabilities. By doing so, the company will have the benefit of working off the same framework codebases, which would open the door to more features, including AI tools.

According to a recent blog post from Google, adding Android-based tech will “accelerate the pace of AI innovation at the core of ChromeOS, simplify engineering efforts, and help different devices like phones and accessories work better together with Chromebooks.”

However, the post does note that while work on this move has begun, these changes may not be consumer-ready for quite some time.

It seems like the big push to integrate more Android-based tech comes from the need to lay the groundwork for more intuitive and capable AI features in Chromebooks, similar to what we’ve recently seen unveiled at WWDC 24 with Apple Intelligence (and with Windows Copilot, too).

ChromeOS needs to Catch up with AI

With more companies determined to avoid getting left behind in the AI race, it makes sense for Google to start work on prepping ChromeOS in this respect - especially considering that it is a rather basic operating system. This is, of course, by design, and not a bad thing – much of Chromebooks' appeal is that simplicity.

So, if you’re someone who likes the sound of a Chromebook, but maybe wants more in terms of AI-boosted tools and abilities, you’ll doubtless find this to be an exciting development.

In the meantime, if you’re a Chromebook Plus user, or you’ve been eyeing up these laptops, remember that with these devices you get a year of Gemini Premium on the house, Write with Me, and more AI features – right now.

Of course, this is currently restricted to Chromebook Plus devices only. However, standard Chromebooks can look forward to some new features, too, such as AI-powered hands-free control with face and gesture tracking, and a focus mode (‘do not disturb’ functionality), which are pretty cool abilities I’m pleased to see on Chromebook.

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Muskaan is TechRadar’s UK-based Computing writer. She has always been a passionate writer and has had her creative work published in several literary journals and magazines. Her debut into the writing world was a poem published in The Times of Zambia, on the subject of sunflowers and the insignificance of human existence in comparison. Growing up in Zambia, Muskaan was fascinated with technology, especially computers, and she's joined TechRadar to write about the latest GPUs, laptops and recently anything AI related. If you've got questions, moral concerns or just an interest in anything ChatGPT or general AI, you're in the right place. Muskaan also somehow managed to install a game on her work MacBook's Touch Bar, without the IT department finding out (yet).