Chrome Dev Tools – AI Assist
Ever found yourself looking at the console in Chrome Dev tools and wondering “what in the world does that mean?” If so, then this post is for you! Now, without having to pop back and forth between a search engine (or your favorite AI tool) to figure out errors, Google has brough Gemini right to Chrome Dev tools.
This post is going to just be a short how to for enabling and using the new AI assist feature within Chrome Dev Tools.
How to Enable AI Assist in Chrome Dev
Docs: https://developer.chrome.com/docs/devtools/console/understand-messages
First, Chrome has to be version 125 or newer.
Next, just navigate really anywhere and open the dev tools. (F12 on Windows or Ctrl + Shift + I or More Tools > Dev Tools)
Even just navigating to Google.com, I get a few errors in the console.
I wonder what these mean?
The next step is to enable the AI assist.
Gear -> Preferences -> Console -> “Understand console messages with AI”
and then:
For me, at this point I did have to reload the browser. Not sure if that was just because I needed an update or not. Regardless, now I have access to the AI assist!
Chrome Dev Tools: AI Assist in Action
Navigating back to Google and opening Console under dev tools, I see the errors. Now, when I hover over the error I get a litte assist icon:
When you hover the mouse over the actual icon, it looks like this:
So, let’s understand this error! After clicking, on the first use you do get a privacy notice.
I next, check the box, agree and now I have an explaination!
Wicked cool!