This deep dive breaks down what this system does, how Google updates it, and how you can customize your browsing experience. What is the Chrome New Tab Most Visited System?

Click the (pencil icon) button in the bottom right corner. Look for the Shortcuts card in the side panel. Choose between two modes: My shortcuts: Shortcuts are curated entirely by you.

Unlike older versions of Chrome, you can now drag and drop tiles freely:

Currently, Chrome uses a "suggestion" algorithm. If you visit a site frequently, it appears. The mostvisited9 update hints at a more robust ranking system. By refining how the 9th slot is calculated, Google is likely improving the "recency vs. frequency" algorithm—ensuring that the site you visited yesterday doesn't get bumped by a site you visit every month.

Navigate to the bottom right-hand corner of the page and click the pencil icon. Locate the Shortcuts sidebar menu option.

Google Chrome’s has long featured a "Most Visited" section (often labeled Frequently Visited or Top Sites ) that displays shortcuts to websites a user visits most often. Historically, this section showed 8 tiles . A significant update — referred to internally and in Chromium commits as "MostVisited9" — expands this grid to 9 tiles , alongside behavioral and visual refinements.

In just a few steps, you can quickly access your most visited sites and tailor the list to your needs:

Some users worry that expanding from 8 to 9 shortcuts means Google is tracking more browsing data. This is a misconception.

Spending a large amount of time on a new website will quickly push older shortcuts off the grid.

Google tests new layouts for the New Tab Page using experimental features called flags. If an update broke your grid layout, you can reset these experiments. Type chrome://flags/ into your address bar and press Enter. Click the button in the top right corner. Relaunch the browser.