Firefox begins accommodating users who don’t want AI in their browser. Mozilla announced Monday that it will soon allow users to block all current and future generated AI features in Firefox. Users also have the option to block certain AI features in Firefox while preserving others.
Starting with Firefox 148, which launches on February 24th, users will find a new AI Controls section within their desktop browser settings.
People who don’t want to access AI features from Firefox can turn on the “Block AI Extensions” toggle. Turn on this setting to prevent pop-ups and reminders to use existing or upcoming AI features.
New AI controls allow users to independently manage AI features. These features include Translator, which lets you browse the web in your preferred language, alt text for PDFs, AI-powered tab grouping, link previews, and Firefox’s AI chatbots in the sidebar that lets you use a chatbot of your choice while browsing (including services like Anthropic Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, Le Chat Mistral, and more).
“AI is changing the web, and people want something completely different from AI,” the company said in a blog post. “We heard a lot of people who wanted nothing to do with AI, and we also heard people who wanted AI tools that really helped them. Listening to the community, along with our continued commitment to providing choice, led us to build AI Control.”
The announcement comes as Mozilla appointed Anthony Enzor-DeMeo as CEO in December. Enzor-DeMeo said at the time that Mozilla is investing in AI and plans to add AI features to Firefox, but that the company intends to make these features optional.
“AI should always be an option, and something that people can easily disable. People need to understand why features work the way they do and what value they get from it,” he said in a blog post.
Enzor-DeMeo’s comments come as Mozilla struggles to adapt to a rapidly changing browser market. Browsers like Firefox and Google Chrome have dominated the browser space for more than a decade, but are facing new competition from companies like Perplexity, Arc, OpenAI, and Opera.
While Mozilla plans to invest in new AI capabilities, it’s also focused on transparency. CNBC reported last week that Mozilla President Mark Thurman said the company is building “a kind of rebel alliance” of tech startups, developers and public interest technologists dedicated to making AI more reliable and checking the power of players like OpenAI and Anthropic.
Mozilla will commit about $1.4 billion worth of reserves to support technology companies and nonprofit organizations, including itself, CNBC reported. The company is pursuing investments that promote transparency in AI and compete with companies growing at historic rates with limited oversight.
