Google reportedly working on a new AI writing tool for ChromeOS

After rolling out various AI-powered features to Gmail, Docs, Slides, and more, Google has been reportedly working on an AI writing tool writing and editing feature for Chromebooks.  

As the company expands the implementation of its generative AI technologies, among several other AI-powered tools, the new writing and editing feature on ChromeOS will allow users to navigate Google’s laptop operating system easier. 

The project has at least five codenames associated with it - the main three being “Orca,” “Mako,” and “Manta.” The report claimed that “Orca” will primarily appear in ChromeOS’s right-click menu but only when editing a body of text.  If users choose Orca, a “bubble” with the Mako UI will appear on the screen. 

According to the code, Mako will have three main tasks. First, it will have the ability to “request rewrites” of a certain text, presumably one that an AI has rewritten. “Secondly, it can offer a list of ‘preset text queries’, which we assume, in the context of generative AI, to be example prompts for how to ask for a certain style,” the report said. Lastly, Mako can “insert” the revised text into the original text, exactly where users left it off. 

Manta, on the other hand, will likely send users’ original text and prompt to Google’s servers, which will send back the AI-enhanced version, the report said. But Google will ask the user’s consent before any of the writing is sent to the servers for AI enhancement, much like Magic Compose. 

The tech giant is also reportedly planning to introduce a new feature for Android that will allow users to link their various Android devices together, similar to Apple’s Continuity feature. The new feature could enable including “Call Switching”, which will allow users to switch between connected devices during calls, and “Internet Sharing”, which could allow users to quickly set up a personal hotspot across the connected devices.