Following Google’s announcement about the highly anticipated Gemini 2.0 in early December, the world’s most popular search engine unveiled a plan for its first-ever artificial intelligent (AI) agent. Project Mariner is a research prototype built on Gemini 2.0 that is set to explore the future of human-agent interactions.
Mariner is a Chrome extension that can automate all sorts of web tasks in a user’s browser on their behalf. However, the project, from Google’s DeepMind subsidiary, is still in the early stages of a phased implementation and is only available to a small group of trusted testers.
Before all Chrome users are given access to the helpful AI agent, let’s explore what Google’s Project Mariner is and how it will redefine usability and user testing in the near future.
What Is Google’s Project Mariner?
Google’s Project Mariner is the experimental testing of a Gemini 2.0-powered agent (Mariner) that can understand the contents of a user’s Chrome browser, allowing it to navigate websites much like a human would by taking control of the cursor, clicking buttons, and filling out forms.
Users can leave a written or voice-activated prompt for the AI agent in the chatbot on the right-hand side of their Chrome browser. This prompt will explain what task the user wants the agent to perform on their behalf, including searching for hotels, shopping for household items, and finding recipes.
Mariner can understand everything on your browser screen, including text, code, images, and forms. However, the AI agent will ask for clarification if it does not understand an instruction.
Once Mariner understands the human prompt, the AI agent will show the user a step-by-step explanation of its reasoning process and how it plans to tackle the task. Users will see their cursor move across the web browser as actions are performed on their behalf in real-time.
However, to give users more control over their web actions, the Chrome extension cannot fill out credit card numbers or billing information, accept cookies for users, or sign a terms of service agreement.
For example, if a user prompts Mariner to “create a shopping cart from a grocery store based on this list”, Google’s agent will navigate to a grocery store’s website and add the listed items to a virtual shopping cart.
(Image Source: TechCrunch)
Mariner works by taking screenshots of the user’s browser and sending them to Gemini 2.0 in the cloud for processing. Gemini then sends instructions to the user’s computer on how to navigate the web page. Please note that Google’s agent only works in the user’s active tab, which means you can’t use your browser for other things while the AI agent works in the background.
Mariner not only represents a milestone in AI technology but also a shift in usability and user testing. Millions of businesses have historically relied on Google to send real people to visit and use their websites.
However, if Project Mariner goes well, users will soon become less engaged with the websites they visit, which means humans won’t be required to conduct usability and user testing.
What Is Usability and User Testing?
Before we explore how Project Mariner will redefine usability and user testing, let’s better understand these research methods/processes.
Both usability and user testing are used to collect actionable insights that enable designers and product teams to create a better user experience (UX).
Usability testing evaluates the product’s design and functionality by assessing how easily and effectively users can accomplish tasks using the website or app.
The website usability testing process involves asking real users (rather than designers and developers) to complete a series of specific tasks on the website. The results, success rate, and paths taken by the user to complete the tasks are then analysed so the product team can identify areas for improvement and issues they might have otherwise overlooked.
For example, during a usability test for a new eCommerce website, users might be asked to find and purchase a specific item on the website. Developers and designers can then see how easily the user navigated the site, found the assigned product, and went through the checkout process.
User testing is different and often comes before usability testing, as it aims to ensure the product meets user needs and expectations by evaluating product satisfaction, uncovering user pain points, and gathering user feedback. Common user testing methods include surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
(Image Source: Userbrain)
However, despite their differences, both user and usability testing are crucial parts of the design process, and it’s almost impossible to build a good website or app without these processes. In fact, a frustrating user experience can cause nearly 90% of online shoppers to never return to an eCommerce site.
How Will Project Mariner Redefine Usability and User Testing?
Traditionally, the user experience has been centred around human satisfaction, making human users the core reason for usability and user testing.
However, a successful outcome for Google’s Project Mariner could mean that human users become less engaged with the websites they visit. This is because the AI agent will be able to complete the tasks on their behalf, following just a simple prompt.
Firstly, with AI agents as the primary users of websites and apps, we can expect to see a shift in usability and user testing methods, including the introduction of a dual approach:
- Human-centric testing. Traditional usability and user testing methods should remain in place as it is still crucial to make sure that human users have a smooth and satisfying experience with the product.
- AI-centric testing. During development, simulating AI agent interactions will help assess how well websites assist these bots in completing tasks and evaluate how effectively a site supports their tasks. This might involve using machine learning (ML) models to mimic agent behaviours during product testing phases.
The dual approach for usability and user testing will ensure both human and AI audiences are served effectively.
In addition, the emergence of Project Mariner means website designers and developers must create experiences for both humans and the AI agents acting on their behalf. Having to adapt a website to meet the needs of an AI agent introduces several considerations for product teams, including:
- Machine-readable content. Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the basic scripting language web browsers use to render pages on the internet. AI agents rely on a clear, standardised markup to navigate website content and complete tasks effectively.
- Task-oriented design. Complex navigation or unclear processes could hinder the AI agent’s ability to perform multi-step tasks, reducing a site’s effectiveness.
- Personalisation and adaptability. AI agents will learn and adapt based on user behaviours. Designers and developers will need to anticipate possible AI agent behaviours and build websites flexible enough to accommodate them.
In summary, websites must balance easy-to-use interfaces for human users with structures optimised for machine-readability for AI agents.
Are You Ready To Welcome Google’s First-Ever AI Agent?
Project Mariner is still in the early stages of a phased implementation, so website designers and developers have time to learn more about the AI-powered agent and adjust their products accordingly.
However, it is critical for product teams to implement AI-focused techniques early on to ensure their websites stay relevant in an ever-changing and competitive online environment.
Finally, it’s important to note that the implementation of Google’s Project Mariner and other possible AI agents will raise serious ethical questions among users. To gain user trust, websites must clarify how their data is managed and stored when they interact with these agents.
