New Google Chrome extension warns you about Steam games are made with generative AI

It's hard to escape AI these days. Whether it's AI-generated content in the games you play or high-powered executives telling you that the use of the tool is actually good for the future of the industry, it feels like there's no escape from artificial intelligence. If you're as sick of it all as I am, then a new Google Chrome extension will help make it easier for you to spot AI usage in Steam games, even if it can't just get rid of it forever.

If you want to publish a game on Steam, you must follow Valve's guidelines on AI content. This includes a system that asks developers to disclose whether they used AI while making the game. Developers must confirm the usage and then explain exactly what they used AI for. This can range from using it for admin tools, creating voiceovers using AI, or making in-game assets.

While it's great that Steam includes this information on game pages, it's found down at the bottom of the page, just above the system requirements. This means that the details can easily be missed, or if you've never scrolled far enough down a game page, you may not even know it exists. That's why the "AI warning for Steam" extension is so useful.

Discovered by outstarwalker on X, the Google Chrome extension reads the game's page searching for AI-generated content disclosures, and notifies you of their existence. When you click on a page, a pop-up will appear, taking over the page and blurring out the contents, showing you the description of how the developer used AI.

I've personally tested it on Steam, and it does a great job of showing you the information you want. If the game has too much AI, or you simply refuse to play any game that has used the tool, you can just press the back button on your browser and return to the store. If it's something you can live with, you can click the blue 'Close' button and continue on to the store page.

Obviously, the extension only works on your Chrome browser, so it won't pop up on the native Steam app if you use it to browse. Still, I'll find this extremely useful when someone sends me a link to a game. If you fancy installing it, you can join the 4,000 of us who already have it through the Chrome web store.

Whether we like it or not, it seems that AI in game development is only headed in one direction. Stranger than Heaven director Masayoshi Yokoyama has said that the scale of GTA 6 may force developers into AI usage, while Riot has created a new Head of Experiential AI role as the League of Legends developer embraces artificial intelligence.

Still, there are plenty of games on Steam that don't use AI in any capacity, and with this extension, you'll be able to ensure you don't get caught by those that do. Happy hunting.