Mozilla angers Firefox users with latest AI browser gimmick

[Alfonso Maruccia]

Editor's take: Mozilla's management keeps doing an absolutely stellar job of giving Firefox users exactly what they do not want. While the open-source browser is slowly becoming a footnote in the history of internet software, well-paid managers continue implementing AI models to handle some of the most mundane tasks a web browser could possibly perform.

Mozilla introduced a new AI-based feature with the latest major release of Firefox, and things are going exactly as many expected. Firefox 141.0 adds an option to automatically organize similar tabs into groups and even suggest names for those groups. The feature uses a locally installed AI model which, according to some users, can behave erratically in terms of CPU utilization.

Over the past few days, several users have reported CPU and power spikes on Reddit. One user noted that a new "Inference" process could jump from 0.05 percent to "130 percent" CPU usage. Mozilla developers acknowledged the issue in a recent bug report, describing it as "abnormal CPU spikes" that should never occur under normal conditions.

As Mozilla explained in a recent post, AI-enhanced tab grouping is an experimental feature being introduced through a progressive rollout. The inferencing process runs entirely within the browser on the user's local machine, and of course, it can still make mistakes when identifying tab groups or suggesting names.

The official bug report suggests that Mozilla is determined to fix the abnormal CPU spike issue. Some frustrated users are begging the company to stop bloating Firefox with "AI horse sh*t," especially for managing trivial tasks like tab grouping.

For now, the AI tab-grouping option can be disabled by manually tweaking Firefox's settings. My own Firefox setup doesn't seem to be part of the feature rollout yet, so I haven't been able to replicate the CPU spike myself.

Mozilla has been pushing to turn Firefox into an "AI-first," privacy-friendly browser for some time, much like every other major browser maker. Chrome has its own collection of AI gimmicks, while Microsoft recently added a "Copilot Mode" to Edge. Meanwhile, AI companies like OpenAI and Perplexity are working on their own Chromium-based "AI browsers."

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Mozilla angers Firefox users with latest AI browser gimmick

 

[gamerk2]

The "put AI in everything" bubble can not fail fast enough.

 

[mgwerner]

Well, damn. I've used FF for close to 20 years, and will now have to move to something else. The feature creep has been a theme for a while with them, and this is the straw.

 

[human7]

Firefox is great. Mozilla isn't. If the antitrust trial severs Mozilla from all that Google cash, we may finally see a change in how Mozilla operates, hopefully for the better. Would be better for Firefox to just be separated from Mozilla, though.

 

[brunocasarini]

"Mozilla's management keeps doing an absolutely stellar job of giving Firefox users exactly what they do not want": looks like Mozilla is following Microsoft footsteps. They're just shoving AI crap on everything just to follow the hype.

 

[airbornex]

The irony is that Firefox used to be the lightweight alternative to bloated browsers. AI for tab grouping feels like hiring a Michelin star chef to butter your toast, except sometimes they accidentally burn down the kitchen.

 

[daffy duck]

Author likes taking swipes at Firefox every chance he gets. Just stick to your crap Chrome browser and manifest v3 sucker.

 

[cyborg2hear38]

"Mozilla angers Firefox users with latest AI browser gimmick" ... What?? ... trying for the most non-rationally emotive and dramatic headline of the day?
how about...
"Some Firefox users dislike Mozilla's latest AI browser gimmick"
... but thank you for not using "to be clear", "seriously", "dozens", or "stunning" in your article

 

[scoffer]

I've been using Firefox less and less lately. I tend to use Brave more nowadays. I wouldn't touch Chrome or Edge with a 10ft bargepole.

 

[riev90]

I've been using Firefox less and less lately. I tend to use Brave more nowadays. I wouldn't touch Chrome or Edge with a 10ft bargepole.

Same, previously I always used Firefox.
Then moving to Chrome since I started having smartphone in 2013.

Then enough is enough, I started using Brave since mid 2023 and it has been a flawless experience.

 

[AlexIL]

Ditched Firefox once they introduced their brand new terms of service. It was road well known and undertaken by many before with same results. Enshittification in the name of greed. Mozilla products are already dead. Move on people.

 

[dznmdrwutmynamiz]

"Mozilla angers Firefox users with latest AI browser gimmick" ... What?? ... trying for the most non-rationally emotive and dramatic headline of the day?
how about...
"Some Firefox users dislike Mozilla's latest AI browser gimmick"
... but thank you for not using "to be clear", "seriously", "dozens", or "stunning" in your article

Don't forget "X things you need to know about Y"

 

[bwbeam]

I've been using Firefox less and less lately. I tend to use Brave more nowadays. I wouldn't touch Chrome or Edge with a 10ft bargepole.

I have used Firefox as my default browser since inception but have made Waterfox my default when Firefox started doing weird things.I still us Firefox but as a secondary browser ,I have 3 27" monitors and 2 have browsers while the 3rd has my email program

 

[Northy]

Mozilla management: "Hey, all the other browsers are jamming AI down people's throats despite them not wanting it. Let's do that too."

Minions nod.

 

[Northy]

I started using Brave since mid 2023 and it has been a flawless experience.

I moved to Brave as my primary home browser in the last couple of years as well. Too many issues with FF over the last period, it's a shame to see the great fall so low.

 

[bclaymiles]

Well, damn. I've used FF for close to 20 years, and will now have to move to something else. The feature creep has been a theme for a while with them, and this is the straw.

It's not absolutely necessary to flee FF; notwithstanding the bonkers default setting of 'on' for new features, you can turn most of them off.

If you really want to go hard on exiting but still preferring the Firefox experience (for the most part), and without being crammed into the chromium-based browser box, there is the Midori browser. I use it in limited fashion for my half dozen AI tabs and some pseudonymous email accounts used for privacy. It uses FF engine, but with all the silly nonsense stripped out.

https://astian.org/midori-browser/

I'm not ready to abandon firefox proper though. No browser I've ever tried is more efficient with memory than FF. At the moment I have 207 tabs open in FF. No other browser is able to handle that, not without consuming all ram and going into swap. I don't remember the exact number from the last time I closed FF, but I believe two to three gigabytes of ram were freed up. Opera, with 87 tabs open consumes eight gigabytes of ram.

 

[bclaymiles]

blah blah blah

I just checked, I'm on FF 141 and didn't know it. I checked 'about:config' and the AI tab organizer is disabled by default.

So there's that.

 

[mgwerner]

It's not absolutely necessary to flee FF; notwithstanding the bonkers default setting of 'on' for new features, you can turn most of them off.

If you really want to go hard on exiting but still preferring the Firefox experience (for the most part), and without being crammed into the chromium-based browser box, there is the Midori browser. I use it in limited fashion for my half dozen AI tabs and some pseudonymous email accounts used for privacy. It uses FF engine, but with all the silly nonsense stripped out.

https://astian.org/midori-browser/

I'm not ready to abandon firefox proper though. No browser I've ever tried is more efficient with memory than FF. At the moment I have 207 tabs open in FF. No other browser is able to handle that, not without consuming all ram and going into swap. I don't remember the exact number from the last time I closed FF, but I believe two to three gigabytes of ram were freed up. Opera, with 87 tabs open consumes eight gigabytes of ram.

I've tried Waterfox and used Pale Moon for a few years, but always came back. I agree that the memory usage is excellent, and like you, use a lot of tabs daily. I am just sick of the feature creep - not just in FF - and when I have something that works great, want it to stay that way.

No excuse me while I go outside and shout at clouds......

 

[mountains]

It would have been more productive to add the instructions that most other articles about this situation included for disabling the annoying behavior. I feel frustration with Mozilla, but even more with... the maker of that other browser.

Here is one of many articles that tells how to undo this thing:
Firefox AI Feature Causes CPU Spikes: Why Users Are Frustrated and How to Fix It

Further, if Techspot is not going to include real technical info then you will devolve into merely the site for angry people to yell at each other. The Internet has enough of that.

 

[bclaymiles]

I just checked, I'm on FF 141 and didn't know it. I checked 'about:config' and the AI tab organizer is disabled by default.

So there's that.

Another reply to myself. I remembered that when they do rolling updates with new features, they have a habit of enabling new feature by default for some people and not for others, obviously A/B testing to gauge user resistance versus acquienscence to the borg.

 

[mountains]

Another reply to myself. I remembered that when they do rolling updates with new features, they have a habit of enabling new feature by default for some people and not for others, obviously A/B testing to gauge user resistance versus acquienscence to the borg.

Interesting. Sounds like a reasonable interpretation. For me it came enabled, but I fixed that.

 

[GrayDragon]

The irony is that Firefox used to be the lightweight alternative to bloated browsers. AI for tab grouping feels like hiring a Michelin star chef to butter your toast, except sometimes they accidentally burn down the kitchen.

You can turn it off in general settings. Just scroll down to find it and uncheck the box. I just did this, thanks to seeing this article.

 

[whawn]

As I've said many times: "If I wanted to use Chrome, I would be using Chrome." To keep the stupidly fast auto-update cycle in range of reason, I use an add-on that allows me to control updates, and quite a bit of other stuff too, called Enterprise Policy Generator. It generates a configuration file, then gets out of the way. Very handy, I find.

 

[Hotlynx16]

I have used Firefox for years, I started with Netscape and after it went away. Firefox was the closest one with the same feel as Netscape so I went with it! Earlier this year they did something an I was unable to log into my email, pharmacy and one of my banks! After trying many thing I tried logging into those sites with Chrome and Brave and it was no problem! This lasted for a couple of months until I tried Firefox again and those logins were working again. Recently after I upgraded the wireless cards in one of my laptops and I was only getting 500Mbps with 1GBps service. I tried checking everything then finally tried download speed test in Chrome and got 997Mbps! Went to Firefox redit for help and they just said "Submit a bug report" So sad!!! I only use Firefox for backup now!!

 

[GrayDragon]

I'm not sure this has anything to do with AI. You might check your addons and so forth, I know it's really easy to load up on them but each one slows you down. Also, ad blocking software might cause some sites to refuse to work with you. You can disable individual sites to get around this. And finally, banks are getting really antsy because of all the hacking. I always have to go through a lot of verifications to set up my browser (Firefox) with my bank but after that it is fine.