Google is rumored to be releasing a new version of its powerful AI model “Gemini” later this year, part of which is “Project Jarvis”. This is an autonomous AI agent built into Chrome that can perform a variety of web-related tasks on your behalf.

According to The Information, Project Jarvis can visit various websites, fill out forms, and of course make purchases based on your instructions. All in all, this may be the biggest upgrade since Chrome was launched in 2008.

This is similar to the beta product “Claude with Computer Use” that Anthropic announced last week. Claude uses this to determine where to “click the mouse” and perform tasks.

However, unlike Claude's broad computer access, Project Jarvis is specifically limited to the Chrome browser and focuses on consumer tasks such as shopping and booking travel.

Google's Project Jarvis, named after Tony Stark's AI assistant in Iron Man, will be responsible for most everyday web tasks. Basically, you tell Gemini, 'I have $500, find a vacation for these dates, book it, and give me the details,' and Gemini will make it happen.

The goal is to automate everyday web tasks in Chrome; Jarvis controls the browser, captures screenshots of what is happening on the screen, and uses an “AI vision” feature to determine where to click and what to type.

Jarvis cannot control the entire computer like Claude, but it works in a similar way. If it is included in ChromeOS in the future, it may be able to control computers, but the Information report does not mention that possibility.

The Information reports that this will appear in the next big release of Google Gemini in December, most likely called Gemini 2. This is likely to be on December 6, a year after Google released Gemini 1, but may not be widely released until 2025.

It is also not clear if Jarvis will be available to everyone or if it will be a developer preview like Anthropic's Claude Computer Use. If widely available, it may be limited to Gemini Advanced subscribers, or it may be an opt-in preview, as there is rumored to be a “few seconds delay” in each task.

Jarvis, Computer Use, and OpenAI's Project Swarm are all examples of the next big advance in the AI race: the “AI agent.” These basically automate everyday tasks; all you have to do is ask the AI to do something and it will get on with it. I just hope they can find a way to fill my bank account before they go on a spending spree.