Relay, the AI workflow automation tool launched in 2021 to challenge Zapier, is closing. Staff members, including the chief executive, are moving to Google’s Chrome team.
Jacob Bank, the founder and CEO, posted a company announcement on Monday. Access for paying customers ends on September 14. Free users lost access on August 15. The closure was first announced in July.
Bank spent more than six years at Google before founding Relay. He is returning as vice president of product for Google Chrome. In this role, he leads the product and developer relations teams. This information comes from his LinkedIn profile.
Bank wrote on X that he has spent his career building tools to help people accomplish more using AI without losing personal creativity or insight. He described joining the Chrome team as an ideal chance to share these experiences with a much wider audience.
“We have some really ambitious plans to help you work with AI in Chrome to get things done,” he added. “I’ll have more to share soon.”
Bank joined Google in 2015 after his previous startup, Timeful, a scheduling app, was acquired by the search giant. He worked in various areas, including product lead for Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Chat. He later left to launch Relay.
Like Timeful, Relay provided productivity upgrades through workflow automation. It allowed businesses to manage repetitive tasks such as document drafting, copyediting, and various project management duties. TechCrunch contacted both Google and Relay for further details.
Details on how Bank and others plan to integrate AI into Chrome remain unclear, though he calls the browser “a perfect place to collaborate with agents.”
This move follows a steady path of AI integration into Google’s user experience. The integration of Gemini into search has altered Google’s front end and the wider internet. Gemini is also integrated into Chrome as an optional in-browser assistant.
Users appear to respond well to these changes. Google recently reported that Gemini has surpassed 1 billion users.
What it means
For people using Chrome, the shutdown of Relay removes a standalone tool for automating tasks. Instead, Bank suggests these functions will move inside the browser. This changes the workflow from installing separate automation apps to using features built directly into Chrome.
