Say hello to Google’s ‘Disco’, an AI tool that makes web apps from browser tabs

Google is always introducing new experimental AI tools, like that time it tried out AI-generated podcasts in Google Search results. Another such AI-powered experiment has hit the proverbial airwaves. This time, it’s a Gemini-powered tool that it’s calling "Disco," which can take a web browser tab and turn it into an interactive web app. 

The process is fairly simple. You take a browser tab and ask Disco to make it a web app with its GenTab function. The AI then creates a simple web app that houses all of the information from the browser window. This includes interactive elements that can help visually explain information from the browser window. The presentation is controllable based on how you prompt the AI. 

In one example that Google used, it created a Disco web app from a webpage about entropy and showed an example of what entropy might look like. There is also a tool that helps you take that information and summarize it for use in writing.

Another example Google used was planning a winter trip. In the GenApp that Disco generated, it included information about the location, a Google Maps map of the surrounding area, integration with the user’s calendar, and an itinerary builder that used Google Maps map pins to show where everything would be. It showed all of this and more in an interactive user interface. 

Google also showed off the ability to make an interactive meal planner and a vegetable garden planner. In short, if you want to plan something, this might actually be a useful tool.

The general idea appears to be combining web browsing for the purposes of research, and combining it with the ability to plan or research things more deeply. Instead of just reading 15 webpages about a certain topic, you can generate a web app that will guide you through the material. Similarly, instead of opening tabs for your calendar, Google Maps, and other tools to plan a trip, you can have Disco’s GenTabs make a web app that houses all of those tools in one spot. 

It’s an interesting pivot for Google. Most AI companies are currently investing in web browsing via the AI browser idea, which includes Perplexity’s Comet and Copilot Mode in Microsoft Edge. Google has the Chrome browser with Gemini baked in already, so this is a different way to explore the notion of web browsing with AI.

Google says that Disco will eventually be a platform that will house multiple features. GenTabs, the functionality described above, is the first such feature for that platform. Currently, users will have to sign up for a waitlist if they want to try it out, but the waitlist does say that approved testers will likely be chosen for future Disco features as well.