Tech
Google shuts down Project Mariner
Google has pulled the plug on Project Mariner, an experimental feature designed to perform tasks for you across the web, as reported earlier by Wired’s Maxwell Zeff. The Project Mariner landing page now contains a message that says: “Thank you for using Project Mariner. It was shut down on May 4th, 2026 and its technology voyaged to other Google products.”
Earlier this year, Google showed off a new AI-powered feature, called “auto-browse,” that can perform multi-step tasks in Chrome, like researching flight costs. Though Google doesn’t say whether it’s powered by Project Mariner, it seems like a response to the agentic web browsing tools offered by OpenAI, Perplexity, and OpenClaw.
With the removal of Project Mariner, Google may be making room for the other AI features that could make their debut during this year’s I/O, which starts on May 19th. Google didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.