Google Introduces ‘Disco,’ an AI Tool That Builds Web Apps From Browser Tabs

Google’s Google Labs is testing Disco, a new browsing experiment where Gemini 3 turns open tabs into “GenTabs,” or interactive mini web apps built from what you’re researching.​

Google has introduced Google Disco, an experimental AI-powered browsing experience designed to transform open browser tabs into interactive web apps. The first feature, GenTabs, uses Google’s Gemini 3 model to build task-focused apps from your open tabs and chat history, with an initial waitlist rollout starting on macOS.​

What Google Disco is

Disco is a new experiment from Google Labs that Google describes as a discovery vehicle for testing new approaches to browsing and building on the web. In practical terms, Disco is positioned as a dedicated environment where browsing sessions can be remixed into interactive tools, rather than staying as a long list of separate tabs.​

Google frames Disco as a response to modern web tasks that often require juggling many tabs while researching, planning, or learning. The company also notes that Disco is an early-stage experiment, meaning features may be incomplete, and Google is seeking feedback from a small cohort of testers first.​

How GenTabs turns tabs into apps

GenTabs is the first feature being tested inside Disco, and it creates interactive web applications based on a user’s goal and the tabs they have open. Google says GenTabs can proactively understand complex tasks using signals from open tabs and chat history, then generate an app-like interface to help complete that task.​

A key part of the pitch is that users do not need to write code; instead, they describe what they want, and then refine the resulting app using natural-language instructions. Google also emphasizes attribution: generative elements in GenTabs link back to the original web sources.​

Google’s examples for GenTabs include use cases like building a weekly meal plan, planning a trip, or helping students explore educational topics through more interactive visual layouts. Other coverage of Disco has described GenTabs outputs as custom applications generated from tabs that can then be adjusted with follow-up prompts as needs change.​

Google Disco at a glance

Availability: who can use it and when

Google is distributing Disco through a waitlist, with access beginning on macOS. The company says it is starting small, with early testers providing feedback on what is useful and what needs improvement.​

Third-party reporting similarly describes Disco as a limited test through Google Labs, with GenTabs introduced as the first feature and more features expected later as the experiment evolves. Because it is a Labs experiment, Google has also indicated that the strongest ideas could later appear in bigger Google products, but Disco itself is still positioned as a testbed.​

Why Google is building Disco now

Google’s stated motivation is to reduce the friction of complex web tasks where users research across many pages and then still need to organize information into a plan, study aid, or workflow. Instead of leaving users with tab overload, GenTabs aims to convert what’s scattered across tabs into a single interactive interface tailored to a specific job.​

Tech industry coverage also places Disco in the broader trend of AI moving deeper into web browsing, as companies look for ways to make browsing more task-oriented and assistant-driven. In that framing, Disco is less about replacing the web and more about creating structured, app-like experiences from existing web content and user intent.​

Competitive context: AI browsers and assistants

Google is not alone in pushing AI into the browsing layer, and TechCrunch points to rival efforts such as Perplexity’s Comet as examples of the AI browser race. Engadget similarly describes Disco as part of a broader push to build AI-enhanced browsing experiences, where the browser can assemble and present information in more interactive formats.​

Where Disco looks different, based on Google’s own description, is the emphasis on generating apps from a set of tabs (GenTabs) rather than only answering questions about a single page. Google also highlights that GenTabs tie generative elements back to sources, an approach meant to keep the experience grounded in the underlying webpages.​

How Disco differs (high level)

Key questions: sourcing, control, and reliability

Google says GenTabs link back to original sources for the generative elements they present, which can make it easier for users to verify where information came from. That said, Google also cautions the product is early, and not everything will work perfectly, underscoring that outputs may need review and iteration.​

Google’s rollout strategy—starting with a waitlist and a small test group—signals that the company expects to learn from real-world usage before expanding availability. For publishers and site owners, GenTabs’ source-linking approach could matter because it keeps a visible connection to the web pages being summarized or reorganized into an app-like interface.​

What happens next

Google has positioned GenTabs as the first feature in Disco, implying additional capabilities could be tested over time inside the Labs environment. The company also explicitly says that compelling ideas from Disco could eventually make their way into larger Google products, though it does not commit to timelines or specific integrations.​

In the near term, the clearest next milestone is broader access beyond the initial macOS waitlist cohort, depending on tester feedback and iteration speed. If GenTabs proves popular, it could influence how Google thinks about the boundary between browsing and building, turning research sessions into lightweight tools users can keep refining as they go.​