Mozilla’s new CEO says AI is coming to Firefox, but will remain a choice

Mozilla has appointed Anthony Enzor-DeMeo as its CEO as the Firefox browser maker scrambles to adapt in a rapidly changing browser market.

The appointment comes at a time when web browsers are seeing a revitalization of sorts as AI changes how people use the internet. After more than a decade of dominating the market, incumbents like Firefox, Google Chrome and Apple’s Safari are facing a fresh challenge from companies like Perplexity, Arc, OpenAI, and Opera, which are focused on baking in AI models and agents into their browsers to bring AI to users at the first point of contact with the internet: the web browser.

These changes don’t seem to be lost on Mozilla, which consists of several organizations, one of which is the Mozilla Corporation, which develops Firefox and other technologies, and another is its nonprofit and tax-exempt Mozilla Foundation, which oversees Mozilla’s corporate governance structure and sets the browser maker’s policies.

The company has had a tough time lately: It’s gone through a restructuring, and last year laid off 30% of its employees and dropped its advocacy and global programs.

But the potential to make a comeback amid the modern browser wars doesn’t seem to be lost on the company. Mozilla will be investing in AI and will add AI features to Firefox, Enzor-DeMeo said in a blog post announcing his appointment.

That said, Mozilla seems intent on not infuriating users who’ve chosen Firefox for its lack of AI features: Enzor-DeMeo said the company will make AI features optional within Firefox and its other products.

“AI should always be a choice — something people can easily turn off. People should know why a feature works the way it does and what value they get from it,” he wrote.

The company will also be investing in diversifying its revenue beyond search (in exchange for having Google as its default search engine, Mozilla makes a significant portion of its revenue from the search giant), and Enzor-DeMeo said Mozilla plans to flesh Firefox out into “a broader ecosystem of trusted software.”

Currently, the company also develops the Thunderbird email client, a VPN, and last year launched an AI-powered website creator aimed at small businesses.

Before this appointment, Enzor-DeMeo was general manager of Firefox, and is now taking over from interim CEO, Laura Chambers, who was in the role for the past couple of years. Enzor-DeMeo previously held product roles at Roofstock, Better, and Wayfair.

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