The poll is over, and the result is clear:
#FireFox users have very little interest for Chatbot integration into their browser.
I am very much aware that the people, who voted in this poll are hardly a representative sample, but more than 2.4K people is a better size than many “professional” opinion polls.
@mozilla & @firefox should take people, who actually care about their #browser choice, seriously.
I still seriously believe that #Mozilla’s fate matters,
https://berlin.social/@mina/113102817500429735
1/3
Mozilla is desperate for any cash influx, AI in a browser is a hot sounding thing, right now. Perhaps they also hope they can leverage it for extra income.
I run a Nightly on one of my machines and it was weird seeing the option and I hope it does not make it or that it gets removed.
It’s just a plain integration with 3rd-party or self-hosted LLM service.
I’m not sure if Mozilla will make money from this feature in any way.
Have you read anything about it anywhere?
Maybe they can offer a LLM router and privacy proxy service like they do with VPNs?
Not who you asked speculating.
If you’re using a VPN at the OS or browser level, just like any other traffic, your query to the LLM service will be routed via the VPN. That VPN could be any VPN of your choice - Firefox VPN, Mullvad, or Proton etc.
The only problem is that most LLMs require a profile/login to work with. In such cases, using a VPN will be useless, as the LLM server will know who you are.
It gets them users, which are needed for funding.
Like it or lump it, AI chat integration is a feature, and lots of users (those who aren’t on a federated group discussion Firefox) will see it as an attractive feature. “It doesn’t even have a chat bot” is something that will legitimately be said if its the only major browser without it.
I mean I’m desperate for them to get a cash influx too, just not really sure how this does that. Maybe set up for another preferred default deal like they have with Google? Maybe privacy focused option as SaaS offering like they do with their VPN, but you ahead of the curve instead after VPNs became so common you trip over them.
I do not know either. But with the recent Google, Anti-Trust ruling, there is a chance the Courts could force Google to break the deal they have with Mozilla in the future. I assume Google will appeal, but if that goes, so does 80-85% of Mozilla’s income. Selling Mullvad’s VPN is not going to cut it, so maybe they think they can cash in with “AI” somehow. Since you are right, maybe the best VPN’s aren’t dirt cheap but they are certainly not expensive in most Western countries. Besides, most users do not use VPNs. As of 2023, only about 31-33% of all internet users do.