Google DeepMind engineer Vidy Thatte has developed an experimental AI browser called Gem that offers a radically different way to explore the internet. Instead of retrieving websites from traditional servers and displaying their original content, Gem uses artificial intelligence to generate webpages from scratch based on the URL entered by the user.
The experimental project was first demonstrated publicly on July 22 and was later made available through Apple’s TestFlight platform. The listing describes Gem simply as a generative browser, reflecting its unusual approach to web browsing.
Every URL Becomes a Prompt
Traditional browsers such as Chrome, Safari and Firefox retrieve webpages from servers when users enter a web address. Gem works differently. It treats the URL itself as an instruction or prompt and sends it to Google’s Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite model.
The AI then generates a webpage based on its interpretation of the address.
This means that even when a user enters the address of a real website, Gem does not necessarily display the original page. Instead, it creates its own version of what it believes the website should look like.
The concept becomes even more unusual when users enter a nonexistent URL. Rather than returning an error page, the AI browser can invent an entirely new website based on the information it receives from the address.
Because Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is designed for low-latency and high-volume tasks, generated pages can appear quickly enough to make the experience feel similar to conventional browsing.
Users Need a Gemini API Key
Gem is currently an experimental side project rather than a mainstream commercial browser. One important difference is that it does not provide Gemini API access to users.
Anyone testing the browser must supply their own Gemini API key connected to a Google account. Every URL entered into Gem generates an API request, meaning users are responsible for any associated usage.
A free API key can be obtained through Google AI Studio, although testing has reportedly shown that the free limits can be reached very quickly. Users who want to continue experimenting may therefore need to enable billing.
This requirement also highlights one of the challenges facing AI-powered browsing: generating every page through an AI model could create ongoing computing and API costs that traditional web browsing does not normally impose.
Websites Can Be Completely Transformed
One of Gem’s most interesting features is its ability to change the visual style of generated webpages.
The AI browser offers a wide range of styles, including Dark Mode, Reader, Neubrutalist, Broadsheet, Blueprint, Comic Book, Punk Zine, Notebook, Windows 95, Geocities, Matrix, Terminal and Vaporwave.
Changing the style can transform the appearance of a webpage within seconds while preserving some of its basic elements, such as headlines.
However, the experiment reveals an important limitation. Gem does not always distinguish between changing the appearance of information and changing the information itself.
During testing, the browser reportedly rewrote article text rather than simply presenting the original material in a different design. This means users may not always be looking at the actual content published by a website.
AI-Generated Information Raises Questions
The most striking example came when a tester entered a nonexistent URL based on their own name.
Instead of displaying an error, Gem created an entire portfolio website. At first glance, this might seem like an impressive demonstration of generative AI.
However, the generated site also contained fabricated information. A LinkedIn-style link did not lead to the tester’s real profile. Instead, Gem generated another page that looked like LinkedIn and included invented details, including a fake follower count.
This illustrates one of the biggest concerns surrounding an AI browser: generated content can look convincing even when it is not factual.
Traditional browsers generally act as windows into existing websites. Gem effectively creates an interpretation of those websites, meaning users could potentially receive information that never existed on the original page.
A Different Vision of the Internet
Gem represents a broader idea about how people might interact with the web in the future.
Rather than visiting thousands of individually designed websites, users could potentially ask AI systems to generate personalised versions of online information. Pages could be redesigned according to a user’s preferred reading style, visual appearance or level of detail.
That could make the internet more flexible and accessible. A reader might, for example, turn a complex webpage into a simplified article or transform a text-heavy site into a visual interface.
But accuracy would become an even more important concern. If an AI browser generates rather than retrieves information, users need reliable ways to distinguish original content from AI interpretation.
The Future of Browsing
Gem remains an experimental project, so it is too early to know whether this approach will become a mainstream alternative to conventional browsers.
Still, the experiment demonstrates how artificial intelligence could fundamentally change the relationship between users and websites.
Instead of simply displaying the internet, an AI browser could become an interpreter that reconstructs the web for every individual user.
The idea is exciting, but it also comes with significant challenges involving accuracy, authenticity, cost and trust. Gem’s unusual approach offers an early glimpse of a future where entering a URL may no longer mean visiting a website. It could mean asking AI to imagine what that website should be.
