Google has hired Jacob Bank as VP of Product for Chrome. The announcement was made today, with Bank previously working at Google for six years.

In 2015, Google acquired his Timeful smart calendar assistant, with some of those features integrated into Google Calendar and Gmail. The latter gained Smart Reply, Smart Compose, Nudging, and more under his purview. AI was also leveraged to boost anti-malware and anti-phishing protections. He started as a product manager and ultimately became Director of Product Management for Gmail, Calendar, and Chat. 

In 2021, he left Google to found a workflow automation platform called Relay.app, which shut down in August. Several employees from Relay.app are joining the Chrome team today.

In a social media post, Bank teases “some really ambitious plans to help you work with AI in Chrome to get things done.” He notes that the browser is already people’s “primary workspace for productivity” and the “perfect place to collaborate with agents.”

So much of my work with AI involves passing the baton back and forth until I’m happy with the output, and in Chrome I can do that right where the app is already open.

Google today offers Gemini in Chrome, with that instance of the assistant offering browser-specific capabilities, and auto browse integration with Spark.