Tech giants Google and Microsoft are preparing to embed on-device artificial intelligence directly into their Chrome and Edge web browsers, although the background feature will require users to hold at least 20GB of free storage space.
Google confirmed Chrome can automatically download on-device generative AI models to local hardware provided the device meets performance thresholds, uses an unmetered internet connection and maintains roughly 20GB of available disk space.
The background AI model will power several browser features, including writing assistance, text summaries, tab management, and enhanced security tools.
Chrome relies on Gemini Nano, a lightweight model built for local processing to reduce reliance on cloud servers. In some cases, the browser may continue downloading required background modules even after a user closes the associated feature tab.
Developers emphasized the 20GB figure is a minimum threshold requirement rather than the actual download size. The AI models themselves are significantly smaller, although exact file sizes may vary with future model updates.
Users who prefer not to store local models can disable the feature by navigating to Settings > System > On-device AI. Toggling the setting off will automatically delete any downloaded models and prevent future background downloads until re-enabled.
Microsoft Edge is adopting a similar strategy by requiring 20GB of free space on the drive housing the user profile before downloading local models, such as Phi-4-mini, accessible via Microsoft's Prompt API for developers.
To prevent storage exhaustion, Edge includes an automatic fail-safe that deletes downloaded AI models if available disk space drops below 10GB.
The push highlights a growing industry trend of browsers pre-loading local AI models without explicit user prompts, making routine storage checks essential for users with limited disk capacity.
Source: Neowin, Support Google, Learn Microsoft,
