I tried Firefox 139s new AI-generated link previews and while I love the idea, Im skipping them for one key reason

Date:
Fri, 30 May 2025 10:56:25 +0000

Description:
Firefoxs AI link previews are a good idea, but theyve got one key drawback.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Firefox 139 has added an AI-powered link preview feature This summarizes web pages without you needing to click a link Like all AI generation, it needs time to think which can be a pain

With artificial intelligence (AI) all the rage these days, its not uncommon
to find your favorite web browser has added a bunch of AI features designed
to change the way you surf the internet. Firefox is no exception: as
explained in the release notes of its latest version 139 update, the browser has brought AI-powered link previews to its users.

Once the experimental feature is enabled, you can activate it by hovering
your mouse pointer over a link and pressing Alt+Shift. This fires up a
preview box that summarizes key info about the web page so that you can see what its about without needing to visit.

On first glance, I love this idea. Imagine you land on a web page and youre not sure if you can trust its embedded links. Or youre super busy and just want to know if its worth clicking through to a linked page. With an AI link preview, you can get artificial intelligence to do the work for you.

Firefoxs AI comes into play by showing a set of key points that sum up the main ideas of the linked page, helping you to understand it before you click through. But although that initially sounds great, Im not totally convinced just yet. A good idea with an annoying flaw (Image credit: Future)

Ive been a loyal Firefox user for 20 years now, and Ive seen it change a huge amount in that time. And with the rise of AI, I shouldnt be surprised that developer Mozilla has been leaning into machine learning features in recent years.

While link previews feel like a good idea on the surface for one thing, they let you check if a link is actually what it claims to be without having to click and find out they suffer from a common AI problem: you have to wait
for them to be generated. Its the same with tools like ChatGPT , where you need to wait for the AI to think up a response. Firefoxs link previews are
not instant, and when I tried them out, I found they ended up slowing down my browsing experience.

Still, they have to be activated with a specific keyboard shortcut, which means they wont appear when you simply hover over a link, minimizing the risk of accidental activations. Thats good, since a slow-generating box that obscures the text youre trying to read would quickly get annoying. As it is, you can activate the previews if you want, or totally ignore them if you
dont.

This is far from the only AI tool that Firefox has added over the last year
or so. You can now add an AI chatbot to your sidebar, use AI to overhaul your tab groups, and more. And while link previews help it keep up with the
current tech zeitgeist, Im not sure its a feature Ill be using a whole lot right now. You might also like Best web browser of 2025 Mozilla.ai: not another chatbot Ive been a Firefox power user since it launched 20 years ago heres why it still beats Chrome and Safari



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/i-tried-firefox-139s-new-ai-generated-link -previews-and-while-i-love-the-idea-im-skipping-them-for-one-key-reason


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