Yeah, every couple of weeks Gmail asks me what browser I want to use, even though I tick “don’t ask me”. I wonder, if I selected Chrome, would it continue to pester me? Or does it only pester me because I’m not using Chrome? In any case, this is frustrating enough, let alone every time I click a link. Just let me set a default, permanently.

It's not. From the article:

> They want to see more information, a wide selection of browsers and the option to select their default browser while setting up their devices.

Emphasis mine.