Google Now spotted in builds of Chrome browser for Windows and Chrome OS

By Mariella Moon March 12, 2013

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Like a trail of bread crumbs, Google has been leaving clues and references to what could be the eventual integration of Google Now on its Chrome web browser. Chromium (an open source browser where the more widely used Chrome browser gets its source code) expert François Beaufort did a little digging and found codes left by Google engineers indicating the arrival of the Android feature on PCs and Chromebooks or Chromeboxes. Unfortunately, no clues hinting at Chrome for Mac have been found.

Google Now is digital personal assistant introduced with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Think of it, like a combination of Siri, Google search, and an app that predicts your behavior. It delivers information – say, your schedule, Gmail Events, hotel and restaurant reservation, and even traffic info, among others – by displaying “cards” with the information you need on the interface of Android devices. Beaufort peviously spotted a code that would add a “Show Google Now notifications in Chrome” option to Chrome browsers on the Chromium Code Reviews page. This time around, he spotted the same code on a full beta release version of the Chrome browser. You can already enable the option if you have the technical know-how and the Google Now server you need, but you won’t be able to see the cards until the feature goes public, rendering it useless at this point.

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It’s unclear when Google will make the feature available on Chrome as the company has yet to confirm that it actually exists.

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Mariella loves working on both helpful and awe-inspiring science and technology stories. When she's not at her desk writing…

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