Exclusive: Google demoed the new Chromebook Plus AI features for us [VIDEO]

I’ve been a bit tough on the ChromeOS team of late. From updates with ghost “new features” to the missing AI toys we were promised all the way back in October as Chromebook Plus was launched, I’ve not been shy about calling out Google on these things. As an independent media outlet, we sometimes get labeled as fan boys of Chromebooks, and to some extent that is an accurate label.

At the end of the day, we love ChromeOS and Chromebooks and want to see both flourish. So when I see Google doing things that go against that end goal, I get frustrated just like anyone else. It doesn’t matter that I’m rooting for Chromebooks to succeed when it comes to this stuff; if it is out of line, we simply have to say it.

The ChromeOS team has been listening

The fun part in all this is the fact that the ChromeOS team is actually listening. When I rant about a missing feature or something that is long overdue, it’s getting through, and the folks behind the new features promised for Chromebook Plus have reached out to let us – and all of you, by extension – know that all those new features are not vaporware, they are nearing completion, and those with Chromebook Plus devices will see all the promised updates soon.

They went a step farther, though, and didn’t just tell us these features are coming together: they showed them to us. That’s right! In a quick demo, we got to see the new AI wallpapers, AI Meet backgrounds, and (most importantly) the system-wide AI-driven “Help me write” feature in action via a demo last week. Even better, they’ve given us a quick video of all of this to share with you all to see that we’re getting very, very close to all of these features landing on a Chromebook Plus device near you very soon.

Help Me Write demo

AI Video Background demo

AI Wallpaper demo

So, what took so long?

In our meeting, after seeing all this stuff actually in use, the question had to be asked, right? Why has this taken so long when AI-driven themes and “Help me write” are both available in the Chrome browser right now for Mac, PC and Linux? I wrote a whole post about this prior, wondering why in the world the promised features we saw in October made it to other platforms first with Chromebook Plus sitting on the sidelines.

The answer is quite simple: complexity. While “Help me write” is a useful feature on Chrome, the version we’re getting in ChromeOS is far more intricate. First, it works on a system-wide level, not only in the browser. But it also gives you far more ability that you’ll get in the Chrome-only version as it is trained to help on things Google knows people do on Chromebooks. Finally, it is a larger model as well that has more capability and reach than what the version we currently have on the Chrome browser. Future abilities of this feature are tantalizing to say the least.

With what we’re seeing in the demo (some of the UI could change, BTW), I’m tempted to think that it was likely better that we waited for the proper version of all of this. Yes, 6 months is a long time to sit on an anticipated addition, and perhaps the ChromeOS team was a bit hasty in announcing these features back in October. However, I think there’s a real shot that AI on a Chromebook is going to end up being one of the best overall AI implementations available when it does ship.

And it’s coming soon – that much I can promise. And when it arrives, I’m very hopeful that the wait will have been worth it. Sure, the AI backgrounds and wallpapers (which have some fun tricks up their sleeves as well that we’ll cover in a later post) are a fun additions, but the system-wide “Help me write” feature is going to have the potential to be a game-changing addition to the OS that will be tough for other OS makers to match. And I can’t wait to have it at my disposal to give it a real test in the near future.