As browser wars heat up, Chrome adds new productivity features

As AI companies and startups continue pushing into the web browser market, Google Chrome — the world's most widely used browser — is rolling out several new features aimed at boosting productivity. On Thursday, Google announced the official launch of three new options: Split View, PDF annotations, and a Save to Google Drive feature. Together, the additions are designed to more tightly connect Chrome with other Google services and make day-to-day browsing tasks more efficient.

Although these new tools aren't specifically centred on AI, Google has already integrated its Gemini AI assistant into Chrome. That earlier move came as competition ramped up from AI players like OpenAI and Perplexity, both of which have been exploring agentic browsers. As these browser wars intensify, Google is working faster to deliver more consumer-facing improvements, rather than sticking to slower, more incremental updates.

Split View makes multitasking in Chrome much easier by placing two webpages side-by-side in the same tab. This allows users to work across two sites at once, compare information, or even watch a video while taking notes. To use Split View, you can drag a tab to the left or right edge of the browser window, or right-click a link and choose "Open Link in Split View." Chrome will automatically snap the tabs into place. When you're finished, you can close the Split View layout via a right-click option.

Another practical upgrade is PDF annotations, which allowusers to highlight text and add notes directly in the browser. Instead of downloading a PDF and opening it in a separate application, users can now work with the document where it's already open. The long-awaited addition could make everyday PDF tasks simpler, including digitally signing documents, filling out forms, marking up personal files, adding quick notes, or reviewing documents without switching tools.

The third feature, Save to Google Drive, adds a convenient way to store PDFs in the cloud rather than on a local device. With this option, any PDF can be saved directly into a user's Google Drive account instead of being downloaded to a computer, where it could be misplaced or forgotten. Files saved using this function will appear inside a "Saved from Chrome" folder in Drive, making them easier to locate later.

This update also follows the expansion of Gemini and other agentic features to Chromebook users last month. Looking ahead, Chrome is expected to adopt another change that originally gained popularity in competing browsers: support for vertical tabs. Tech-savvy users can already enable vertical tabs in an experimental mode by changing a Chrome flag, but wider adoption appears to be on the way.

Vertical tab organisation was one of the standout features of The Browser Company's alternative browser, Arc, and it also appears in the company's AI-focused browser, Dia. By bringing vertical tabs to Chrome — along with Split View and the new PDF tools — Google is aiming to give users fewer reasons to switch to competing browsers as the market grows more crowded.