Customizing Google Chrome can help improve productivity and aesthetic appeal by changing colors, backgrounds, themes, dark mode settings, and adding shortcuts and cards to new tabs. To start customizing Chrome, open a new tab and click "Customize Chrome" at the bottom-right of the screen, which will open the customization sidebar. From there, users can pick from various color pairs, upload an image or design as a background, use AI-generated themes, switch between light and dark modes, add shortcuts to frequently visited sites, and enable cards for quick access to Google Calendar events and recent files. These customizations allow Chrome to become a personalized dashboard for getting work done efficiently and in style.