Generative AI browser extensions and desktop assistants embed conversational models directly into the user’s workflow, letting people get answers, draft content, analyze code, and automate web tasks without switching contexts. As of late 2025 this category includes general-purpose conversational assistants (Anthropic’s Claude family), browser-first helpers that act on pages (Minion AI), web-grounded answer engines with citations (Perplexity), and no‑code agent platforms that execute actions across channels (Duckie). Claude’s extensions surface a multi‑purpose conversational and developer assistant optimized for research, writing, and code analysis. Alternatives emphasize different tradeoffs: Perplexity focuses on returning sourced, real‑time answers and developer APIs for web‑grounded research; Minion AI emphasizes browser integration and mobile support to help users perform tasks directly on web pages; Duckie targets organizations that need no‑code agents that answer from internal knowledge bases and take real‑time actions like ticketing or refunds. Choosing among these tools depends on priorities: factual grounding and citations (Perplexity), in‑page automation and cross‑device convenience (Minion), broad conversational capabilities and model safety work (Claude), or operational automation and enterprise integrations (Duckie). Emerging buyer considerations in 2025 include data privacy and local inference options, the quality of web‑grounding and citation, the extent of actionability (agents that can perform changes vs. just advise), cross‑platform support, and compliance for enterprise data. This category is maturing from single‑task assistants toward composable, action‑capable agents that must balance utility, safety, and verifiable sourcing.