Google has reported a major breakthrough in browser security, stating that artificial intelligence helped identify and fix 1,072 security vulnerabilities in the latest Chrome updates. This figure for Chrome 149 and 150 exceeds the total flaws addressed in the past 23 updates.
The surge in discoveries is driven by Google’s aggressive integration of large language models into its vulnerability management process.
The tech giant introduced an AI-driven agent named Big Sleep, developed in collaboration with Google DeepMind and Project Zero, as well as a dedicated Gemini-powered agent to scan the codebase.
These AI systems automate nearly everything, from identifying flaws and reproducing reports to assigning severity ratings and generating candidate patches.
The automated tools are already proving highly effective. In one instance, the AI system uncovered a critical sandbox escape vulnerability concealed in the Chrome codebase for more than 13 years.
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Additionally, automating the initial triage of bug reports is saving developers hundreds of hours each month. In May alone, these internal AI agents blocked more than 20 vulnerabilities from ever reaching production.
However, finding bugs faster creates a new challenge: developers must deliver patches quickly before attackers can reverse-engineer the publicly available source code.
To address this risky patch gap, Google is shifting Chrome to a biweekly major-release schedule and testing security updates twice a week to keep up with the AI-driven increase in bugs.
To prevent frequent disruptions to the user experience during quick updates, Google is working on a “dynamic patching” feature. Beginning with Chrome 150 on macOS, the browser can now automatically restart in the background to implement pending updates when no windows are open.
Google’s long-term goal is to maintain continuous browser security with recurring updates, automatic background restarts, and enhanced session restoration.