Mozilla Tests an AI 'Smart Window' in Firefox—But Only If You Opt In

In brief

• Mozilla is testing Smart Window, a separate, opt-in Firefox window for chatting with an AI assistant while you browse.
• You pick the model and can turn the whole thing off; Firefox's one-click AI kill switch arrived earlier this year.
• It extends Mozilla's existing sidebar chatbot and leans on "user choice" as the pitch against browsers built by AI companies.

Mozilla is testing a new "Smart Window" in Firefox—a separate, optional window where you can chat with an AI assistant of your choice while you browse. The company is inviting users onto a waitlist to try it first.

The window sits alongside Firefox's Classic and Private modes. You decide when, how, or whether to use AI at all, and you can switch it off if it's not for you. Mozilla's own announcement frames it as "user-controlled," built so you're never locked into one ecosystem or forced into an AI experience. The project is early, and Mozilla says it's building in the open and wants feedback from the first testers.

Mozilla's pitch draws a line with browsers made by AI companies, which it says force a hard choice: use AI all the time or not at all. Firefox, the argument goes, is the independent option that keeps you in control. “In Firefox, you’ll never be locked into one ecosystem or have AI forced into your browsing experience. You decide when, how or whether to use it at all,” Mozilla says.