Chrome might soon be able to send you notifications about Gemini’s ongoing tasks even when it’s not actively running in the foreground. Google is testing an OS-level desktop notification so that Gemini in Chrome can ping Windows whenever it begins an automated task.

The related flag is described as enabling “OS-level system notifications” for Glic. Basically, the notifcations/triggers show up even when no browser window is active. For those unaware, Glic is Google’s internal name for Gemini.

It’s worth noting that Gemini already sends persistent notifications on Android for tasks that run in the background, even after you leave the app. It’s not particularly new for that platform, but it’s new for Windows.

The Gerrit commit about this feature mentions that it adds OS level notifications for “experimental triggering task starts.” It’s basically designed to give the user better awareness of these tasks happening in the first place.

Gerrit commit.

These notifications show up when the task starts, and they’re automatically dismissed once the task concludes. If you click on the notification, it’ll take you to the tab in Chrome where the task is active.

Instead of just showing you this information within Chrome, the notification could say something like “Working on your task.”

The original source mentions that the change is hidden behind a Chrome flag, but the flag isn’t available to test yet, even in Chrome Canary. Since it’s basically just a Gerrit commit at the moment, it’s unclear whether it’ll move to the stable version, and there’s no ETA.

This was originally spotted by the folks at Windows Report, who flagged this change in the Chromium source.

In other Chrome news, Google is testing an option that lets you directly translate PDFs without needing third-party extensions. More on that here.

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Sudhanshu K
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I have been a consumer technology enthusiast for over 5 years. Thanks to my experience in software beta testing and product reviews, I've understood and learnt a lot about what bugs and issues bother people, and I spend time trying to simplify their solutions. I cover smartphones, software, social media, apps, AI, and most consumer tech gadgets. Actively pursuing a Computer Science bachelor’s degree. I'm mostly active on Twitter/X (@TechWhirlUlt), drop a DM or tag me if you want to share info or connect!