Yesterday we reported on an issue wherein Google’s browser Chrome was found downloading and installing AI models that can occupy a hefty 4GB of space. This was being done automatically without the consent of the user.
Microsoft’s Edge, which is also based on Chromium, also has a similar feature; thankfully users can turn off the AI model downloads fairly easily using a recently introduced policy. This policy is there to give organizations and enterprises more control over how the browser handles local generative AI models.
Microsoft notes that the policy supports dynamic refresh, meaning admins should be able to apply the changes without requiring users to restart the browser. It can be configured through Group Policy, Registry settings, or enterprise management tools. While this is meant for office PCs, it will also work for general users too as long as you are on Windows 11 Pro.
Called “GenAILocalFoundationalModelSettings”, it allows admins and users alike to decide whether Edge can automatically download and use foundational AI models for on-device inferencing. According to Microsoft’s documentation, enabling the policy with the “Allowed (0)” setting lets Edge automatically download the AI model and use it locally, while setting it to “Disallowed (1)” prevents the model from downloading and removes any previously downloaded model from the device. This works on Google Chrome as well.
To disable the download on Edge, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge in the Registry Editor or follow the steps:
- Registry Editor (REGEDIT.msc)
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
- SOFTWARE
- Policies
- Microsoft
- Edge
- Set the value of "GenAILocalFoundationalModelSettings" to 1
Similarly, on Chrome, navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\ and set the value of "GenAILocalFoundationalModelSettings" to 1.
If you know the usage of a CLI tool like Command Prompt, you can also set it up using the "reg add" syntax. For Edge:
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge" /v "GenAILocalFoundationalModelSettings" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /fFor Chrome:
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome" /v "GenAILocalFoundationalModelSettings" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /fIf the policy is left unconfigured, Chrome version 147 and newer should default to automatically downloading and using the model, though that's currently not the case with Edge. The feature is supported on Windows 11 and macOS starting with Edge version 132, while Android support begins with version 147. iOS is currently not supported.
You can find the policy on Microsoft's official website here.