How to Restore Tabs with AI Agent

If you're searching for how to restore tabs, you've probably just lost a window full of work, research, study or shopping. Here's the fastest way to restore tabs in Chrome, and a smarter, AI-powered way with Side Space and its built-in Side Copilot to restore tabs using AI with precision.

Quick wins: restore tabs in Chrome

• Restore tabs shortcut
  • Windows/Linux: Ctrl + Shift + T
  • Mac: Cmd + Shift + T
  • Press repeatedly to reopen recently closed tabs and your last closed window.
• Restore via History
  • Chrome menu > History > Recently closed.
  • Reopen a single tab or an entire window.
• After a restart or crash
  • Chrome menu > Settings > On startup > Continue where you left off.

Limitations:

• Only recent sessions are available.
• Everything reopens together—work, personal, and distractions.
• Opening new tabs after a crash can overwrite what you wanted to restore.
• Cross‑device recovery is unreliable without perfect sync.

Meet Side Space: AI-powered tab restoration

Side Space is for people who live in their browser. Instead of merely reopening "everything," Side Space understands the context behind your tabs and restores the exact workspace you were using—organized by task or project.

For background on tab management, see our guide on Managing Browser Tabs.

Why it's different:

• AI session reconstruction: Recover the pages that matter to your task, not every stray tab.
• Smart deduplication: Avoid reopening duplicates and stale pages.
• Cross‑device continuity: Resume your organized workspaces from any device.
• Crash‑proof workspaces: Auto‑saves sessions so unexpected restarts don't derail your flow.

Result: You don't just restore tabs—you restore focus.

Side Copilot: precision control for "restore recently closed session"

Side Copilot is Side Space's AI Agent. It adds power and control to the classic "restore recently closed session" flow—preview what's recoverable, restore exactly as much as you want, and see clear results.

• Preview recoverable items before you bring anything back.
• Restore only tabs or full windows, with adjustable limits.
• Get a human‑readable results table with titles, URLs, counts, and any errors.

Use case 1: "Did I close something important?"

The scenario: You're not sure what you just closed, or you accidentally closed a window and want to see what's recoverable before restoring anything.

What Side Copilot does: Shows you a clean preview of recently closed tabs and windows—up to 25 items—with titles, URLs, and session details. You can see exactly what's available before deciding whether to restore individual tabs, a set of tabs, or entire windows.

Example prompts:

• "Show my recently closed items."
• "What tabs did I close in the last hour?"
• "Preview recently closed windows only."

Why it helps: No more guessing. You get a clear audit trail of what you closed, so you can make informed decisions about what to bring back.

Use case 2: "I need my research tabs back—now"

The scenario: You just closed a batch of research tabs (maybe 5, maybe 20) and need them all back immediately. You don't want to restore everything—just those specific tabs.

What Side Copilot does: Restores recently closed tabs in bulk. You specify how many (1–25), and it brings them back with a clear results table showing what was restored, including titles, URLs, and any errors.

Example prompts:

• "Restore my last 5 tabs."
• "Recover 20 recently closed tabs."
• "Undo my last closed tab."

Why it helps: One command brings back exactly what you need, without reopening unrelated tabs or entire windows.

Use case 3: "I closed my entire project window"

The scenario: You accidentally closed a window that had your entire project workspace—maybe 10+ tabs organized for a specific task. You want everything back exactly as it was.

What Side Copilot does: Restores full windows with all their tabs intact. You can restore multiple windows (1–25) and get a summary showing each restored window, its tab count, and any issues.

Example prompts:

• "Restore my last window."
• "Bring back 3 recently closed windows."
• "Recover the previous session's windows."

Why it helps: Perfect for when you need the complete workspace context, not just individual tabs. Everything comes back in the same window structure you had before.

Step‑by‑step: restore tabs with Side Copilot

1. Install Side Space at sidespace.app and sign in.
2. Enable AI Restore so Side Space captures and organizes your workspaces as you browse.
3. Need a quick recovery?
   • Open Side Copilot.
   • Run "Preview recently closed" to see tabs and windows with session IDs.
   • Choose "Restore tabs" or "Restore windows" and set maxResults (e.g., 5, 10, 25).
4. Resume work:
   • Side Space reopens the right tabs in clean groups, deduplicated and organized by task.
5. Optional: Search by keyword or filter by time range to restore only what you need.

When Side Copilot shines

• Mid‑project restart or OS update: Bring back the exact research set, not last week's distractions.
• Misclick mayhem: Closed the wrong window? Restore only that project.
• Memory crash: Recover without resurrecting dozens of unrelated tabs.
• Cross‑device handoff: Continue your "work" workspace on your laptop exactly where you left off on desktop.

Chrome vs. Side Copilot (quick take)

• Chrome's restore is quick but shallow—great for the last thing you closed.
• Side Space restores tabs using AI, rebuilding context‑rich workspaces; Side Copilot adds precise "restore recently closed session" tools for tabs and windows with transparent results.

FAQ

• Does it only work with Chrome?
  • Side Space works across modern browsers, and it's a seamless upgrade if you live in Chrome.
• Will it slow down my browser?
  • You can preview and restore in batches, reopening only what you need.
• What about privacy?
  • Side Space is built with privacy in mind and focuses on restoring your work context. See the app's documentation for details.

Get your focus back

Stop scrambling for how to restore tabs. Start restoring the right tabs—organized, deduplicated, and ready to work—using AI. Try Side Space and Side Copilot today at sidespace.app and never lose your flow again.

Conclusion

Losing tabs shouldn't mean losing your work. While Chrome's built-in restore gets you back online quickly, it treats every tab equally—bringing back distractions alongside your actual work.

With Side Copilot and AI-powered session recovery, you're not just reopening tabs—you're rebuilding the exact workspace you need. Preview what's recoverable, restore precisely what matters, and get back to work without the clutter. Whether you accidentally closed a research window, lost tabs during a crash, or need to pick up where you left off on another device, AI makes tab recovery intelligent, not just automatic.

Stop losing your flow. Start restoring it—smarter.