Google Chrome adds Split View

Google is shipping a new trio of “productivity” features for Chrome—Split View, PDF annotations, and a Save to Google Drive button—framed as a response to intensifying competition from AI-first browsers, according to TechCrunch.

On paper, the changes are mundane. Split View lets users snap two web pages side-by-side within a single tab by dragging a tab to the window edge or selecting “Open Link in Split View.” PDF annotations add highlighting and note-taking directly in the browser, reducing the need to download a file and open a separate application. And “Save to Google Drive” pushes PDFs straight into a “Saved from Chrome” folder in Drive.

This is Chrome continuing its long march from “browser” to “operating system with a URL bar.” The feature set is less about helping users multitask and more about removing exit ramps. If your PDFs are edited inside Chrome and then filed into Drive by default, the portable artifact is no longer the file on your disk; it’s the file plus the workflow plus the account context.

TechCrunch notes Google has already integrated its Gemini AI assistant into Chrome, and that the broader “browser wars” are being stoked by AI providers like OpenAI and Perplexity exploring agentic browsers. Chrome’s new features aren’t branded as AI, but they are classic platform defense: make the browser the place where work happens, store the outputs in the vendor’s cloud, and quietly shift user expectations around what requires sign-in and sync.

The lock-in mechanics are subtle. Split View itself is local UI, but the moment workflow becomes “open PDF, annotate, save to Drive,” the browser becomes a stateful client for a Google account, not a stateless interpreter of web standards. The switching cost isn’t just bookmarks; it’s the accumulation of documents, annotations, and default storage paths. And once a workflow depends on Drive integration, the next step is predictable: policy knobs for enterprises, audit hooks, retention settings, and—because regulators and corporate compliance departments are never far behind—more identity binding.

Google is also preparing to add vertical tabs, a feature popularized by competitors like The Browser Company’s Arc and now present in its AI browser Dia, TechCrunch reports. It’s another sign that Chrome is willing to borrow UI ideas when the competitive pressure is real.

None of this is inherently evil. In-browser PDF tools are useful. But the political economy is familiar: large platforms respond to competition by expanding the surface area of dependency. If the browser becomes your document editor and your filing cabinet, the web becomes less an open network and more a set of permissions mediated by whichever account you’re logged into.

For users who still like the idea of exit, the advice is boring: keep workflows and files portable, prefer local-first storage when feasible, and treat “Save to Drive” as a convenience feature—not a default identity layer for your everyday documents.