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Chrome 133 has arrived, packed with new DevTools features designed to improve your website’s speed and performance. While these updates might sound like they’re built for developers, don’t worry, we’re here to break down the tech-centric features into practical benefits for your business.
Here’s what’s new and how these updates can enhance your site’s performance, SEO, and user engagement.
Persistent AI chat history: Never lose an insight
Picture this: You run a performance test, and Chrome’s AI gives you a game-changing suggestion to speed up your website. You’re ready to take action, but then… you accidentally close the browser. Boom. The insights are gone.
Not anymore. With persistent AI chat history, Chrome now saves your conversations across sessions. You can come back later and pick up right where you left off.
How it helps your business:
Save time by avoiding repetitive tests, you’ll have easy access to previous insights.
Boost team collaboration by sharing AI-driven recommendations.
Track your progress with a running history of performance improvements.
To try it out, navigate to DevTools, interact with the AI panel, and see how it can guide you through optimizations tailored to your site.
Source: web.dev
Image delivery insights: Optimize key page Elements
Images are essential for keeping visitors engaged, but oversized images can drag down your site's speed. DevTools’ Performance panel now flags large images that can be optimized. Just click on the insight, and you’ll see exactly where the image appears on your site timeline.
Why this matters:
Optimizing images improves Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), a Core Web Vital that directly affects SEO rankings.
Faster loading pages mean lower bounce rates and longer session times, leading to better engagement and more conversions.
💡 Quick tip: Start by compressing large images with tools like TinyPNG or enabling lazy loading for non-critical visuals.
Source: web.dev
Keyboard navigation: Easier data exploration
Okay, let’s break this down: Chrome’s Performance panel is a tool that shows your website’s speed data over time. You can zoom in, scroll around, and analyze when key events like page load or user clicks happen. But let’s be honest, navigating through all that data can feel clunky.
That’s where this update comes in. Chrome now offers two navigation styles so you can choose what feels more natural:
Classic Style: Zoom in/out with your mouse wheel; scroll vertically with shortcuts.
Modern Style: Zoom with a keyboard shortcut (Ctrl/Command + mouse wheel), and scroll both horizontally and vertically more intuitively.
How this helps you:
When reviewing reports with your developer, you’ll no longer feel stuck navigating a wall of data. You can quickly zoom in on key events like page loads and user interactions, making performance insights easier to digest.
To customize your navigation style, click on Show shortcuts in the Performance panel and choose what works best for you.
Source: web.dev
Ignore irrelevant scripts: Focus on what matters
Third-party scripts—like ads or analytics—can sometimes clutter your performance reports. The new ignore list feature lets you filter out those distractions so you can focus on the scripts that actually impact your site’s speed.
Example:
If you’re analyzing a slow page, you can ignore external ad scripts and pinpoint delays caused by your core resources, like CSS or JavaScript. This helps you prioritize fixes that will deliver the biggest impact.
Source: web.dev
Enhanced timeline visualization: Clearer data for better decisions
Performance reports just got easier to read. Chrome 133 adds timeline markers and hover highlights to make key events, like page loads, layout shifts, and user interactions, stand out.
What this means:
Timeline markers show when major events (e.g., page fully loaded, user clicked, layout shifted) occurred across your site’s performance timeline.
Hover highlights connect related events, like how a network request affects page rendering or when JavaScript execution slows down the load time.
Example Scenario:
You're presenting a report to your team. Instead of scrolling through endless data, you can now quickly point out performance issues like:
A large layout shift disrupting the user experience.
A slow-loading image causing delays.
JavaScript execution that needs optimization.
This makes it easier for everyone to see the problem and discuss solutions without diving into complex data.
💡 Tip: Run a performance test in DevTools, hover over key events, and watch the data come to life!
Source: web.dev
Throttling recommendations: Simulate real user conditions
Not all your visitors have the latest iPhone on a blazing-fast connection. Chrome’s throttling recommendations simulate how your site performs under real-world conditions, think slower mobile networks, and older devices.
Why it’s important:
Testing under these conditions helps you catch performance issues that might go unnoticed on high-speed desktop setups.
You can optimize for your most valuable users: mobile visitors, who now account for the majority of web traffic.
💡 Pro tip: Use Chrome’s Network panel to test your site under various speed settings and ensure a smooth experience across devices.
Source: web.dev
Timing markers: Always in view
Chrome 133 makes it easier to track key performance events by moving timing markers to an overlay at the bottom of the performance trace. These markers, which indicate events like custom mark() and measure() calls, are now always visible even when the Timings track is hidden.
Why this helps:
Timing markers stay on screen, making it easier to spot key events during your site's load and interaction phases.
Developers and marketers can collaborate more effectively, with critical moments like page load completion always highlighted and accessible.
This update ensures that no matter how detailed your performance data gets, your most important timing events are always front and center!
Source: web.dev
Stack traces for JavaScript calls: Debug like a pro
The Summary tab in DevTools now shows stack traces for JavaScript calls, making it easier to trace performance bottlenecks.
This feature is more technical, but here’s the takeaway: when your dev team digs into why your site is slow, this tool will help them find and fix code issues faster, saving you time and headaches.
Source: web.dev
How to get started
Update Chrome to version 133 to unlock the new features.
Open DevTools (right-click on your site and select "Inspect") and navigate to the Performance panel.
Experiment with tools like image delivery insights and throttling recommendations to identify areas for improvement.
Conclusion: Turn performance insights into business wins
Website performance is more than just a technical concern, it’s a business growth driver. Chrome 133’s new DevTools features help you identify and fix issues faster, ensuring that your visitors have a fast, engaging experience. This can mean higher Google rankings, lower bounce rates, and more conversions.
To take things even further, Navigation AI by Uxify can supercharge your website by making page navigations instant. It works seamlessly on top of your current setup, improving Core Web Vitals and keeping your users engaged.
Interested in seeing the difference Navigation AI can make? Request early access today!
Ana has spent over five years helping businesses create faster, more user-friendly websites that truly connect with their audience. Passionate about ecommerce, UX, and AI, she loves turning complex challenges into seamless online experiences. Ana’s insights have even been featured in the Performance Calendar, where she shares her love for all things web performance.