Smart Window is Firefox’s opt-in AI browsing mode: an assistant experience built directly into the browser, where help can use the current browsing context without taking control away from the person using it. The work turns AI from a separate feature into a coherent browsing system, with clear boundaries for context, memory, transparency, and user control.
High level impact
- Shipped in less than 9 months.
- Took Smart Window from concept to public announcement in roughly three months, defining the core interaction model and product direction under high ambiguity.
- Reframed Firefox’s AI strategy from isolated features to an integrated browsing system, influencing cross-functional priorities and roadmap direction.
- Established foundational UX systems for AI behavior, enabling consistent assistant interactions across the browser.
How it changed me
Smart Window is teaching me that designing for AI is different from simply working with AI. The model’s output is part of the product experience, not a hidden backend result. That means the design work also includes human evals, expectation-setting, failure modes, and the judgment loops that decide whether an answer feels useful, trustworthy, and under the user’s control.