Chrome's 4GB AI model isn't new, but you're not wrong for being confused

A curious omission Google users were more willing to excuse AI in 2024, but the backlash is real in 2026. People are increasingly looking to avoid AI features, which makes this 4GB stealth download all the more questionable. Google’s obsession with AI has led to numerous stumbles, even when the company has ostensibly good intentions, because we are all (rightly!) hyper-focused on how this technology is impacting our lives. Some of those “good intentions” seem to have made the Chrome situation worse. As users sought ways to remove this AI model, many looked for the settings toggle. This happened to coincide with the wide release of Chrome 148, and the label for this toggle included a pretty suspicious change versus v147. Google claims this change was made to be clear about how Chrome’s APIs work. Credit: Ryan Whitwam Google claims this change was made to be clear about how Chrome’s APIs work. Credit: Ryan Whitwam Google removed the stipulation that its on-device AI model would not send data to Google’s servers. This is alarming, as one of the primary benefits of local AI is its greater privacy. We reached out to Google to ask if this wording is due to a change in Chrome’s on-device AI. “This doesn’t reflect a change to how we handle on-device AI for Chrome,” a Google spokesperson said. …