Firefox will soon let you block all of its generative AI features

Firefox will target those who don’t want AI in their browser. On Monday Mozilla announced that Firefox will soon let users block all current and future generative AI features. Users will also have the option to block certain AI features in Firefox, while keeping others.

Starting with Firefox 148, which rolls out on February 24, users will find a new AI controls section in the desktop browser settings.

People who don’t want access to Firefox’s AI features can turn on the “Block AI improvements” switch. With this setting enabled, they won’t see pop-ups or reminders to use existing or future AI features.

The new AI controls also allow users to manage the AI ​​functions individually. These features include Translations, which let you browse the web in your preferred language, Alt text in PDFs, AI-enhanced tab grouping, link previews, and Firefox’s AI chatbot in the sidebar, which lets you use your chosen chatbot while you surf, including services like Anthropic Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, and Le Chat Mistral.

“AI is changing the internet and people want very different things from it,” the company wrote in a blog post. “We’ve heard from many who want nothing to do with AI. We’ve also heard from others who want AI tools that are actually useful. Listening to our community, along with our continued commitment to providing choice, has led us to build AI controls.”

The announcement comes as Mozilla named Anthony Enzor-DeMeo as CEO in December. Enzor-DeMeo said at the time that Mozilla would invest in AI and add AI features to Firefox, but that the company would make these features optional.

“AI should always be a choice – something that people can easily turn off. People should know why a feature works the way it does and what value they get from it,” he wrote in an blog post.

Enzor-DeMeo’s comments come as Mozilla tries to adapt to a rapidly changing browser market. Although browsers like Firefox and Google Chrome have dominated the browser space for more than a decade, they are facing renewed competition from companies like Perplexity, Arc, OpenAI, and Opera.

While Mozilla plans to invest in new AI features, it is also focused on transparency. CNBC reports this last week, Mozilla President Mark Surman said he is building a kind of rebel alliance made up of tech startups, developers and public interest technologists committed to making AI more reliable and checking the power of players like OpenAI and Anthropic.

Mozilla will deploy approximately $1.4 billion in reserves to support technology companies and nonprofits, including its own, CNBC reports. The company is committed to investments that advance AI transparency and resist companies growing at historic rates under limited oversight.