Mozilla finally responds to the outcry from its users. Firefox 148 introduces a dedicated control panel, with an option to block all AI functions in one fell swoop, from current to future features.
December 2025: the trigger
The story begins in December 2025, when Anthony Enzor-DeMeo, the new CEO of Mozilla Corporation, announces his intention to transform Firefox into a "modern AI browser." The community's reaction is immediate. On Reddit, thousands of comments express the same rejection: users threaten to migrate, others speak of betrayal of the project's historical values. Faced with this pressure, the CEO publishes a clarification on December 16, 2025.
"Every product we build must give people agency in how it works. Privacy, data use and AI must be clear and understandable. Controls must be simple. AI should always be a choice," wrote Anthony Enzor-DeMeo, CEO of Mozilla Corporation, in a blog post.
This promise takes shape today in a concrete feature in Firefox 148, available since February 24, 2026.
A centralized "AI Controls" panel
Mozilla has introduced in Firefox 148 a dedicated section in the browser's settings, titled "AI Controls." This section centralizes the management of all artificial intelligence functions, whether they are already available or arriving in future versions. This approach contrasts with that of browsers like Chrome or Edge, where AI functions are often activated by default without a unified control point.
To disable all AI functions, the process involves four steps:
Open "Tools" in the browser's top bar
Select "Settings" from the dropdown menu
Navigate to "AI Controls" in the side panel
Activate the "Block AI-powered enhancements" toggle and confirm
A Mozilla spokesperson clarified to Bleeping Computer: "When AI controls become available, the 'Block AI Enhancements' toggle will be off by default." (When AI controls become available, the Block AI Enhancements toggle will be off by default.) Features already in use will appear as enabled, new ones as "available," pending user decision.
Five features concerned, case-by-case management
The global block affects five categories of features currently available in Firefox. The machine translation web page summaries, link previews (which display a content summary before opening a page), AI-assisted tab grouping, generation of alternative text for images in PDFs, and chatbots integrated into the sidebar are the elements targeted. The latter provides access, since 2024, to models like Anthropic's Claude, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, and Mistral's Le Chat.
The user is not forced to opt for total blocking. Firefox allows for granular management : each feature can be individually set to "Available," "Enabled," or "Blocked." It is therefore possible to keep translation, which is useful daily, while removing chatbot suggestions. The block also extends to extensions that use Firefox-provided AI, as well as all future AI features developed.
Mozilla's position against industry giants
Mozilla's decision comes in a context where Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge are increasingly integrating AI tools without offering a similarly clear equivalent in terms of user control. Firefox cannot afford to lose its most loyal user base, often attached to the privacy values championed by the organization. The introduction of these controls is therefore as much a response to the community as a differentiating argument against competitors with far superior resources.
Mozilla had anticipated this release by publishing a detailed blog post in early February 2026 on upcoming AI controls, accompanied by an explanatory video. The update to Firefox 148 automatically triggers the display of a dedicated information page to ensure every user is aware of these new settings.
The question that remains open is that of long-term consistency between this blocking option and Mozilla's stated ambition to remain competitive. Adding controls is a fair short-term response. The real test will be whether Firefox manages to develop AI features useful enough for its users to choose to enable them, rather than blocking them on principle. To explore this topic further, the release notes for Firefox 148 also detail the other non-AI news from this release.
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