Firefox and Exa: Building AI search around people, not platforms

AI has changed how we browse. Full stop. The real question is whether AI leads to one browser experience for everyone, or gives people more ways to make the browser work for them. 

Firefox was always built to give users an alternative to the status quo, and our approach with AI is no different. Much of the industry is going in another direction: Company A builds the browser → and the search engine → and the AI model → and all the surrounding services. The seduction lies in how effortless every layer feels, but it also means one company has total influence over what tech you can use and what AI delivers.

We aim to deliver users a different model: one where AI makes your browser empowering and helpful, with visible citations and with a zero-data-retention commitment, all powered by an independent browser engine. To get there, we’re partnering with people who align with the same open, choice-first thinking that’s shaped Firefox from day one.

Today, that starts with Exa.ai, a search and retrieval company built for the AI era. 

Going forward, Exa will help power Smart Window on desktop and Quick Answers on iOS, giving people a way to get current, source-backed answers without leaving the page. More on our related Smart Window announcement here.

But our Exa news isn’t about one feature or product. It’s about model choice and how people find things online.

An independent AI model

Mozilla has always believed the web is strongest when it encourages technology competition and variety, and we think the same principle should apply to AI. We want to create an AI ecosystem that is open, diverse, and grounded in the same values we champion for the web. So, instead of building our own closed AI stack, Firefox is investing in partnerships with companies like Exa.ai to bring deep expertise in specific areas while sharing our commitment to user choice, privacy, and transparency.