# Best AI Chrome Extensions

> Source: https://theexpertranking.com/assistants/best-ai-chrome-extensions/ · Updated 2026-09-23 · By Goury A K, reviewed by Swati Premachandran · The Expert Ranking (independent; no paid placements)

An AI Chrome extension adds a chatbot to the browser you already use. Most sit in a side panel and can read the page you are on, so you can ask questions, get a summary or rewrite text without copying and pasting. The newest ones are **agents**: they click and type on web pages for you.

That access is also the risk. An extension that reads every page can see your email, bank and health records. A 2025 study presented at the USENIX Security Symposium found several popular AI extensions collecting or sharing sensitive data. So we weighted privacy as heavily as features. Prices and ratings are as of 23 September 2026.

**Quick answer:** **Claude in Chrome** is the best AI extension if you pay for Claude: since 26 August 2026 it is generally available and can fill forms, pull data from pages and run scheduled tasks. **ChatGPT for Chrome** is the best free pick from a major AI lab. For writing help in every text box, **Grammarly** is still the most reliable. Be careful with all-in-one sidebars like Merlin, Sider and Monica, which researchers flagged for heavy data collection.

## Scoreboard

| # | Tool | Score /10 | Price from | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claude in Chrome (Anthropic) | 8.0 | $20/month (Claude Pro) | Paid Claude users who want an agent inside Chrome |
| 2 | Grammarly (Superhuman (formerly Grammarly Inc.)) | 7.8 | Free | Writing help in every text box |
| 3 | ChatGPT for Chrome (OpenAI) | 7.6 | Free | Free, page-aware ChatGPT in any tab |
| 4 | Glasp (Glasp Inc.) | 7.4 | Free | Highlighting and summarising what you read |
| 5 | Sider (Sider) | 6.8 | $8.30/month | Many AI models in one sidebar |
| 6 | Monica (Butterfly Effect Pte. Ltd.) | 6.8 | Free | All-in-one AI toolbox with media generation |
| 7 | Merlin (Foyer) | 6.2 | $19/month | Access to many premium models in one plan |

## Scoring criteria

- **Capability** (25%): What it can do on a page: summarise, answer, write, and complete tasks as an agent.
- **Privacy & security** (25%): Findings from independent research, data-use disclosures, and publisher trust.
- **Integration & reliability** (20%): How well it works across sites, how often it breaks, and how actively it is maintained.
- **Price & value** (15%): Free tier usefulness and cost of paid plans.
- **User reputation** (15%): Chrome Web Store rating, number of ratings and user base.

## Expert reviews

### 1. Claude in Chrome: 8.0/10

Vendor: Anthropic · Website: https://claude.com/chrome · Pricing: $20/month (Claude Pro) (Paid)

Claude in Chrome is the most capable AI extension you can install today. It opens in a side panel and can read the page, click, type, fill in forms, work across several tabs and run tasks on a schedule. It also uses the skills and connectors from your main Claude account. Anthropic tested it with a small pilot in August 2025, widened it to all paid plans in December 2025 and declared it generally available on 26 August 2026.

It costs at least $20 a month because it needs a paid Claude plan. Its store rating is low (2.8 out of 5 from about 1,700 reviews), so expect some rough edges; the extension is still updated often. Like every agent, it can be targeted by prompt injection, so Anthropic lets you limit which sites it may act on.

**Pick it if** you already pay for Claude and have repetitive web chores. **Skip it if** you only want free summaries or use Edge, Brave or a phone.

Scores: Capability 9.5 · Privacy & security 8 · Integration & reliability 8 · Price & value 7 · User reputation 6.5

Pros:
- True agent: clicks, types and fills forms
- Scheduled and multi-tab tasks
- Uses your Claude skills and connectors
- From a major lab with published safety guidance

Cons:
- No free tier
- Chrome desktop only
- Low 2.8/5 store rating

### 2. Grammarly: 7.8/10

Vendor: Superhuman (formerly Grammarly Inc.) · Website: https://www.grammarly.com/browser/chrome · Pricing: Free (Freemium, free tier)

Grammarly is the most trusted AI extension by sheer numbers: 40 million Chrome users and a 4.5-star rating from over 43,000 reviews. It checks spelling, grammar and tone as you type in Gmail, Google Docs, LinkedIn and most other sites, and Pro adds full-sentence rewrites, plagiarism checks and an AI-text detector.

The parent company renamed itself Superhuman in October 2025 and added **Superhuman Go**, a set of agents that can pull information from other apps into the extension. That is useful, but Grammarly's core strength is still polishing your own writing, not browsing for you.

It needs to read everything you type, including private emails. The company says it does not sell this data, but you should turn it off on sensitive sites.

**Pick it if** you write a lot in the browser. **Skip it if** you want a chatbot that researches or acts on pages.

Scores: Capability 7 · Privacy & security 7.5 · Integration & reliability 9 · Price & value 6.5 · User reputation 9

Pros:
- Works almost everywhere you type
- Very stable and actively updated
- Largest user base and strong ratings
- Pro adds plagiarism and AI-text checks

Cons:
- Pro costs $30 if paid monthly
- Reads everything you type
- Not a research or agent tool

### 3. ChatGPT for Chrome: 7.6/10

Vendor: OpenAI · Website: https://chatgpt.com/ · Pricing: Free (Freemium, free tier)

This is OpenAI's official extension, and it replaced much of what the Atlas browser did before Atlas shut down on 9 August 2026. It adds a ChatGPT sidebar that can see the page you are on. You can ask about it, summarise it, translate it or start a task, and it works with a free ChatGPT account.

It is an assistant layer, not a full agent. Long, multi-step jobs are handed to the ChatGPT desktop app. The rollout has also been uneven across plans and countries. The biggest practical risk is fakes: the Chrome Web Store is full of unofficial "ChatGPT" extensions, so check that the publisher is OpenAI before installing.

**Pick it if** you use ChatGPT and want it on every page for free. **Skip it if** you need an agent that completes tasks inside Chrome itself; Claude in Chrome does more.

Scores: Capability 8 · Privacy & security 7.5 · Integration & reliability 7 · Price & value 9 · User reputation 6.5

Pros:
- Free with a ChatGPT account
- Official, from OpenAI
- No copy-and-paste needed to ask about a page

Cons:
- Not yet available to every account or country
- Complex tasks move to a separate desktop app
- Many look-alike fake extensions in the store

### 4. Glasp: 7.4/10

Vendor: Glasp Inc. · Website: https://glasp.co/ · Pricing: Free (Freemium, free tier)

Glasp is a highlighter first and an AI tool second, and that is its strength. You highlight passages on web pages, PDFs and YouTube transcripts, and Glasp saves them to one searchable library. It can summarise articles and videos using ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, and export your notes with links into apps like Notion or Obsidian.

It will not write emails or do tasks for you. Glasp is also a social reading network, so check your sharing settings if your reading is private.

**Pick it if** you are a student or researcher who wants to keep what you read. **Skip it if** you want a general chatbot or an agent.

Scores: Capability 6 · Privacy & security 7.5 · Integration & reliability 7.5 · Price & value 9 · User reputation 8

Pros:
- Free and genuinely useful without paying
- Works on PDFs and YouTube, not just web pages
- Clean export to note-taking apps

Cons:
- Limited AI features beyond summaries
- Social sharing features need checking if your reading is private

### 5. Sider: 6.8/10

Vendor: Sider · Website: https://sider.ai/ · Pricing: $8.30/month (Freemium, free tier)

Sider packs the most features into one sidebar. It lets you chat with several AI models side by side, run a deep-research agent that scans many sources, translate pages and PDFs, and save findings in a searchable knowledge base called Wisebase. Paid plans are credit-based and cheaper than a single chatbot subscription.

Privacy is the problem. The 2025 USENIX Security study by UCL and partners found Sider shared users' questions and identifying data such as IP addresses with Google Analytics, and kept recording activity in private browsing. That does not mean Sider is malicious, but it is a real reason to keep it off sensitive sites.

**Pick it if** you want to compare AI models cheaply on public web content. **Skip it if** you use the browser for health, banking or work systems.

Scores: Capability 8.5 · Privacy & security 4 · Integration & reliability 7.5 · Price & value 7.5 · User reputation 7

Pros:
- Many models and tools in one place
- Cheaper than most single-model subscriptions
- Useful deep-research and translation features

Cons:
- Flagged by academic research for data sharing
- Credit system makes limits confusing
- Heavy, busy interface

### 6. Monica: 6.8/10

Vendor: Butterfly Effect Pte. Ltd. · Website: https://monica.im/ · Pricing: Free (Freemium, free tier)

Monica has one of the highest ratings in the Chrome Web Store (4.9 from about 32,000 reviews). It bundles chat with several models, page and YouTube summaries, PDF translation, image and video generation, and a browser agent for repetitive tasks. It comes from Butterfly Effect, the same company that makes the Manus agent.

The USENIX Security 2025 study found Monica among the extensions that built profiles of users and personalised answers across sessions. The listing also advertises an "AI-bypass" rewriting tool, meant to beat AI detectors, which may break school or workplace rules.

**Pick it if** you want many AI tools in one extension and use it on non-sensitive sites. **Skip it if** privacy matters to you or you need a simple, focused assistant.

Scores: Capability 8.5 · Privacy & security 4 · Integration & reliability 7 · Price & value 6.5 · User reputation 8.5

Pros:
- Very high store rating
- Wide feature set including image and video
- Available on most platforms

Cons:
- Profiling flagged by independent research
- Pricing not clearly listed upfront
- Promotes detector-bypass rewriting

### 7. Merlin: 6.2/10

Vendor: Foyer · Website: https://www.getmerlin.in/ · Pricing: $19/month (Freemium, free tier)

Merlin sells access to many top models (GPT-5.2, Claude Opus 4.6, Gemini 3 and others) through one $19 monthly plan and one sidebar. It summarises pages and videos, drafts replies and runs web searches. On paper that is good value compared with paying for several chatbots.

In practice there are two problems. First, the "unlimited" Pro plan has a hidden fair-use cap; users report it stops at roughly $100 of model usage a month. Second, and more serious, the 2025 USENIX Security study found Merlin capturing form inputs such as banking and health data, including a Social Security number typed into an IRS form, and continuing to record in private browsing.

**Pick it if** you only use it on public pages and want many models cheaply. **Skip it if** you ever type personal or financial data in the same browser.

Scores: Capability 8 · Privacy & security 3 · Integration & reliability 7 · Price & value 6.5 · User reputation 7

Pros:
- Many premium models for one price
- Mature sidebar with summaries and search
- Team plan with compliance certificates

Cons:
- Worst privacy findings in the USENIX 2025 study
- Hidden usage cap on the Pro plan
- Account can pause until the next billing cycle

## What the privacy research found

In 2025, researchers from UCL, Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria and UC Davis tested nine popular AI browser assistants. The paper, "Big Help or Big Brother?", was published at the USENIX Security Symposium.

| Extension | Key finding |
|---|---|
| Merlin | Captured form inputs such as banking and health data; kept recording in private browsing |
| Sider | Shared questions and IP address with Google Analytics; kept recording in private browsing |
| Monica, Sider, ChatGPT for Google, Copilot | Inferred personal traits and personalised answers across sessions |
| Perplexity | The only one with no evidence of profiling |

These results are from 2025. Vendors may have changed their products since, but none of the flagged tools has published an independent audit showing a fix.

## Price comparison

| Extension | Free tier | Main paid plan |
|---|---|---|
| Claude in Chrome | No | Claude Pro, $20/month |
| ChatGPT for Chrome | Yes | ChatGPT Plus, $20/month |
| Grammarly | Yes | Pro, $12/month yearly or $30 monthly |
| Glasp | Yes | Optional in-app purchases |
| Sider | 30 credits/day | From $8.30/month (annual) |
| Monica | Yes | Premium, price varies |
| Merlin | Yes | Pro, $19/month |

US prices as of 23 September 2026.

## Watch out for fake AI extensions

Popular AI brand names attract copycats. In mid-2026 security researchers and Microsoft warned about a fake Perplexity extension that logged users' searches and address-bar input and routed them through an attacker's server. Search the store for "ChatGPT" and you will find dozens of unofficial extensions.

Before installing, check three things:

1. **Publisher:** it should be the company itself (OpenAI, Anthropic, Grammarly).
2. **Permissions:** "Read and change all your data on all websites" is normal for AI sidebars, which is exactly why the publisher matters.
3. **Last updated date:** an extension not updated for a year or more may be abandoned.

## Extension or AI browser?

If you want AI on every page but like your current browser, an extension is the lighter choice. If you want the AI built into the tabs, address bar and history, a dedicated AI browser like Perplexity Comet goes further. Chrome itself now has a built-in Gemini side panel in the US, which covers basic summaries without any extension. See our ranking of the [best AI browsers](https://theexpertranking.com/assistants/best-ai-browsers/).

## Expert tips

1. Right-click the extension icon and set **"This can read and change site data" to "When you click the extension"**. It stops the extension reading pages until you actually use it.
2. Use a separate Chrome profile with no AI extensions for banking, health portals and work admin tools.
3. Before installing anything called "ChatGPT" or "Perplexity", open the listing and check the publisher line and website. Fakes copy the icon and name.
4. In Claude in Chrome, restrict actions to a list of allowed sites so the agent cannot be steered to an unexpected page.
5. If you try Merlin or Sider, check whether they still record in Incognito: go to chrome://extensions and make sure "Allow in Incognito" is off.

## Jargon explained

- **Side panel**: A column on the side of the browser where the AI chat opens, so you can use it while looking at a web page.
- **Agent**: An AI that takes actions for you, such as clicking buttons and filling in forms, rather than only answering.
- **Profiling**: Building a picture of who you are (age, interests, health, income) from what you browse or type, often used for personalisation or ads.
- **Prompt injection**: Hidden text on a web page that tricks an AI into following instructions you did not give.
- **Credits**: A usage allowance some tools sell instead of unlimited use. Each request spends credits, and bigger models cost more.

## FAQ

**What is the best free AI Chrome extension?**

ChatGPT for Chrome, OpenAI's official extension, if it is available on your account. It works with a free ChatGPT login and can read the page you are on. Glasp is the best free choice for highlighting and summarising what you read.

**Is Claude in Chrome free?**

No. Claude in Chrome needs a paid Claude plan: Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise. Pro costs $20 a month. See our [Claude review](https://theexpertranking.com/providers/anthropic/claude/).

**Are AI Chrome extensions safe?**

It depends on the publisher. Extensions from the AI labs themselves are generally safer. A 2025 USENIX Security study found Merlin and Sider collecting sensitive data, including in private browsing. Only install extensions from known publishers and disable them on banking and health sites.

**Can an AI extension read my passwords?**

An extension with permission to read all websites can technically see anything on the page, including text you type into forms. Password managers fill fields in a way most extensions do not read, but you should still turn off AI extensions on login and payment pages.

**Do AI extensions work in Edge or Brave?**

Most do, because Edge and Brave are built on Chromium. The exception is Claude in Chrome, which Anthropic supports only in Google Chrome.

**Does Grammarly count as an AI extension?**

Yes. Grammarly uses AI for rewrites, tone changes and its Superhuman Go agents, and Pro includes an AI-text detector. Its focus is your own writing rather than browsing.

## Sources

1. [Claude: Chrome Web Store listing](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/claude/fcoeoabgfenejglbffodgkkbkcdhcgfn) (Google)
2. [Claude's official Chrome extension 'Claude in Chrome' is now generally available](https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20260827-claude-chrome-available/) (GIGAZINE)
3. [OpenAI's new ChatGPT extension: 3 things to know](https://www.superchargebrowser.com/library/openai-chatgpt-chrome-extension-2026/) (Supercharge Browser)
4. [ChatGPT Chrome extensions: the official one, and the rest](https://utilengine.com/blog/chatgpt-chrome-extension/) (UtilEngine)
5. [Grammarly: Chrome Web Store listing](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/grammarly-ai-writing-assi/kbfnbcaeplbcioakkpcpgfkobkghlhen) (Google)
6. [Grammarly rebrands company as Superhuman, introduces Superhuman Suite and Superhuman Go](https://www.grammarly.com/blog/company/announcing-company-rebrand-to-superhuman/) (Grammarly)
7. [Grammarly plans](https://www.grammarly.com/plans) (Grammarly)
8. [Monica: Chrome Web Store listing](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/monica-all-in-one-ai-assi/ofpnmcalabcbjgholdjcjblkibolbppb) (Google)
9. [Glasp: Chrome Web Store listing](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/glasp-web-highlighter-pdf/blillmbchncajnhkjfdnincfndboieik) (Google)
10. [Sider review 2026](https://makerstack.co/reviews/sider-review/) (MakerStack)
11. [Merlin AI pricing guide](https://www.eesel.ai/blog/merlin-ai-pricing) (eesel AI)
12. [AI web browser assistants raise serious privacy concerns](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1094225) (EurekAlert! / UCL)
13. [Generative AI browser extensions not great for privacy](https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/25/generative_ai_browser_extensions_privacy/) (The Register)
14. [Malicious Perplexity Chrome extension intercepted searches and address bar input](https://thehackernews.com/2026/06/malicious-perplexity-chrome-extension.html) (The Hacker News)