Chrome starts rolling out autofill that pulls details from your Gmail

Google has started rolling out a version of Chrome's autofill that reads your Gmail. When a form asks for an order number, a tracking code or a flight booking, Chrome can now offer the answer straight from your inbox, labelled "Suggested by Gemini". It saves a trip to your email, and it is a clear example of Chrome's AI working with your personal data rather than just the page in front of you.

What changed

Chrome already had "enhanced autofill", which uses AI to fill in names, addresses and card numbers you've saved. On 28 October, Google announced that it can now also "automatically suggest information pulled directly from Gmail", using Gemini with a setting Google calls Personal Intelligence. Google says Google Photos will follow, without giving a date.

The rollout started in the US only, on desktop, Android and iOS. It only works if you use Gemini in Chrome and have switched on Personal Intelligence, the setting that lets Gemini read your connected Google apps. According to Google's help pages, Personal Intelligence requires:

• a personal Google Account (work, school and supervised accounts are excluded)
• being 18 or older
• having Gemini's Keep Activity setting turned on

Personal Intelligence isn't offered in the EEA, Nigeria, Switzerland or the UK.

Why it matters

Filling in a return form or a check-in page with details buried in an old email is a genuine chore, and this removes it. The trade-off is that Gemini needs access to your inbox to do it. Digital Trends put it plainly: "You're basically allowing Gemini to access information stored in your inbox."

Google's announcement says "sensitive data is encrypted and you remain in control", but it doesn't say whether inbox content seen this way is used to improve Google's models. Until it does, treat this the way you would any connected-apps permission: useful, and worth switching on deliberately rather than by default.

Firefox is trying something similar with a different source. Mozilla's Smart Window beta, updated on 27 October and also limited to English in the US and Canada, can fill forms from the tabs you choose rather than from your email. In our view, that sums up the two approaches: Google connects the browser to the rest of your Google account, and Mozilla keeps the choice of sources with you. Our Chrome vs Firefox comparison covers how far that difference runs.

How to turn it off, or leave it off

• If you never enabled Personal Intelligence, you don't need to do anything.
• To switch off just the autofill part on desktop, Digital Trends points to Settings → Autofill and passwords → Enhanced autofill, where you can turn off Find and fill with Gemini. You can also remove individual suggestions.
• To stop Gemini using Gmail, open Gemini's settings and go to Personal Intelligence → Connected apps. Gmail isn't a separate switch: it sits under Google Workspace, so turning that off also disconnects Calendar and Drive.

For more on how Google Chrome and its rivals approach built-in AI, see our guide to the best AI browsers.