Google is expanding Chrome’s security capabilities with new AI-powered features designed to protect users from online scams, deceptive websites, and malicious instructions. The latest improvements to Chrome’s Enhanced Protection mode include Gemini-powered scam detection, new warnings for suspicious websites, and safeguards against attacks that trick users into running harmful commands. The update builds on Google’s earlier use of Gemini Nano for on-device scam detection and introduces a more powerful server-side Gemini model to identify a wider range of fraudulent websites.
How Chrome Scam Protection Uses Gemini AI
Chrome’s scam detection works alongside Google Safe Browsing, which identifies potentially dangerous websites and warns users before they interact with them. In 2025, Google introduced an on-device Gemini Nano model in Chrome 137 to help detect tech support scams. This system analyzed suspicious web pages locally and generated security signals that Safe Browsing could use to determine whether a page was fraudulent.
Google has now moved to a more powerful server-side Gemini model for users who enable Enhanced Protection. The model examines page text to identify indicators such as the brand being impersonated, the website’s intent, and the likelihood of a scam. Safe Browsing combines this analysis with domain reputation and other security signals before deciding whether to display a warning.
Google says page content is analyzed only when Chrome detects strong indicators of a scam. Content sent for this analysis is processed temporarily and is not logged, retained, or used to train AI models.
What the Feature Targets
The original system focused on tech support scams, in which fraudulent websites display alarming messages claiming that a computer is infected with a virus or has a serious security problem.
These pages may use fake security alerts, full-screen windows, or techniques that restrict keyboard and mouse input. Their purpose is often to persuade victims to call fraudulent support numbers, pay for unnecessary services, or grant criminals remote access to their devices.
The expanded Gemini-powered system also targets scams involving fake antivirus software and fraudulent browser-update messages. AI-assisted analysis can help identify deceptive websites that have not yet appeared on conventional lists of known malicious sites.
How the Detection Process Works
When Chrome detects strong signs of a potential scam, its Gemini-powered system analyzes the relevant page content and identifies suspicious patterns. Google Safe Browsing then evaluates the results alongside other security information.
Chrome can display different warnings depending on the assessed risk. Websites considered suspicious may trigger a warning that allows users to reconsider their decision, while sites identified as dangerous continue to receive a prominent full-page warning.
Google has also introduced protection against ClickFix attacks. These scams display fake instructions claiming that users must perform a repair or security check, then trick them into copying and executing malicious commands on their computers.
Chrome can detect potentially dangerous commands copied by users with Enhanced Protection enabled. The clipboard content is stripped of personally identifiable information before being sent to Safe Browsing for analysis. If the command is identified as dangerous, Chrome displays a warning before the user proceeds.
Chrome Scam Protection on Android
Chrome on Android also uses on-device machine learning to warn users about potentially deceptive website notifications. Malicious notifications can continue to target users even after they leave the original website, making them another avenue for scams and unwanted activity. These notification warnings complement Chrome’s broader Safe Browsing protections. However, this feature is distinct from the newer server-side Gemini system used for expanded web-page scam detection.
Availability and What Comes Next
Google announced the latest Chrome security improvements on October 20, 2026. The new features are associated with Enhanced Protection, which provides additional safeguards beyond Chrome’s Standard Protection mode.
To enable Enhanced Protection, open Chrome and follow these steps:
- Go to Settings.
- Select Privacy and security.
- Open Security or Safe Browsing, depending on your Chrome version.
- Choose Enhanced Protection.
Google says users with Enhanced Protection are ten times safer against phishing, social engineering, notification abuse, and other scams compared with users of Standard Protection. This figure is based on the average number of safety warnings displayed to users in the two protection modes, rather than a direct measurement of scam losses or infections prevented.
With these improvements, Google is extending Chrome’s defenses beyond lists of known malicious websites. AI-powered analysis, clearer website warnings, and protection against malicious commands are designed to help users recognize threats earlier. However, users should continue to treat unexpected security alerts, suspicious notifications, and instructions to run unfamiliar commands with caution.
