diff --git a/docs/examples/inline-edit.md b/docs/examples/inline-edit.md
index 957ee3c..f7f409f 100644
--- a/docs/examples/inline-edit.md
+++ b/docs/examples/inline-edit.md
@@ -69,6 +69,37 @@ Lastly, we'll update the edit form and the "Cancel" link so that focus is return
 
 Try using the keyboard in the following demo and notice how keyboard focus is maintained as your navigate between modes.
 
+<style>
+@keyframes fade-in {
+  from { opacity: 0; }
+}
+
+@keyframes fade-out {
+  to { opacity: 0; }
+}
+
+@keyframes slide-from-right {
+  from { transform: translateX(25%); }
+}
+
+@keyframes slide-to-left {
+  to { transform: translateX(25%); }
+}
+
+/* define animations for the old and new content */
+::view-transition-old(slide-fade) {
+  animation: 200ms ease 150ms both fade-out, 200ms ease 150ms both slide-to-left;
+}
+::view-transition-new(slide-fade) {
+  animation: 300ms ease 50ms both fade-in, 300ms ease 50ms both slide-from-right;
+}
+
+form {
+  background: #fff;
+  view-transition-name: slide-fade;
+}
+</style>
+
 
 <script type="module">
   let contact = {
@@ -90,7 +121,7 @@ Try using the keyboard in the following demo and notice how keyboard focus is ma
   window.example('/contacts/1')
 
   function edit(contact) {
-    return `<form id="contact_1" x-init x-target method="put" action="/contacts/1" x-focus="contact_1_edit" aria-label="Contact Information">
+    return `<form id="contact_1" x-init x-target x-merge.transition method="put" action="/contacts/1" x-focus="contact_1_edit" aria-label="Contact Information">
   <div>
     <label for="first_name">First Name</label>
     <input id="first_name" name="first_name" value="${contact.first_name}" style="width:18ch">
@@ -109,7 +140,7 @@ Try using the keyboard in the following demo and notice how keyboard focus is ma
   }
 
   function show(contact) {
-    return `<div id="contact_1">
+    return `<div id="contact_1" x-merge.transition>
   <p><strong>First Name</strong>: ${contact.first_name}</p>
   <p><strong>Last Name</strong>: ${contact.last_name}</p>
   <p><strong>Email</strong>: ${contact.email}</p>
diff --git a/docs/reference.md b/docs/reference.md
index f3e4727..cd25820 100644
--- a/docs/reference.md
+++ b/docs/reference.md
@@ -188,6 +188,12 @@ The `morph` option uses a DOM diffing algorithm to update HTML, it's a bit more
 
 You can change the default merge strategy for all AJAX requests using the `mergeStrategy` global [configuration option](#configuration).
 
+### View transitions & animations
+
+You can animate transitions between different DOM states using the [View Transitions API](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/View_Transitions_API). This API is still in active development and is currently only supported in Chrome browsers. Alpine AJAX provides support for View Transitions and gracefully falls back to no animations if the API is not available in a browser.
+
+To enable View Transitions on an element use the `x-merge.transition` modifier. When enabled in a supported browser, you should see content automatically animate as it is merged onto the page. You can customize any transition animation via CSS by following [Chrome's documentation for customizing transitions](https://developer.chrome.com/docs/web-platform/view-transitions/#simple-customization).
+
 ## x-focus
 
 Add `x-focus` to a form or link to control keyboard focus after an AJAX request has completed. The `x-focus` attribute accepts an element `id` that will be focused. Consider the following markup, we'll assume that clicking the "Edit" link will load a form to change the listed email address:
diff --git a/src/index.js b/src/index.js
index f3881fb..0cdfb3f 100644
--- a/src/index.js
+++ b/src/index.js
@@ -32,9 +32,10 @@ function Ajax(Alpine) {
     }
   })
 
-  Alpine.directive('merge', (el, { expression }) => {
+  Alpine.directive('merge', (el, { modifiers, expression }) => {
     mergeConfig.set(el, {
       strategy: expression,
+      transition: transition(modifiers)
     })
   })
 
@@ -118,6 +119,10 @@ function parseModifiers(modifiers = []) {
   }
 }
 
+function transition(modifiers = []) {
+  return globalConfig.transitions || modifiers.includes('transition')
+}
+
 function isLocalLink(el) {
   return el.href &&
     !el.hash &&
@@ -274,7 +279,7 @@ async function render(request, targets, el, config) {
   if (!response.html) return
 
   let fragment = document.createRange().createContextualFragment(response.html)
-  targets = targets.map(target => {
+  let renders = targets.map(async target => {
     let template = fragment.getElementById(target.id)
     let strategy = mergeConfig.get(target)?.strategy || globalConfig.mergeStrategy
     if (!template) {
@@ -287,13 +292,13 @@ async function render(request, targets, el, config) {
       }
 
       if (response.ok) {
-        return merge(strategy, target, target.cloneNode(false))
+        return await merge(strategy, target, target.cloneNode(false))
       }
 
       throw new FailedResponseError(el)
     }
 
-    let freshEl = merge(strategy, target, template)
+    let freshEl = await merge(strategy, target, template)
 
     if (freshEl) {
       freshEl.removeAttribute('aria-busy')
@@ -303,6 +308,7 @@ async function render(request, targets, el, config) {
     return freshEl
   })
 
+  targets = await Promise.all(renders)
   let focus = el.getAttribute('x-focus')
   if (focus) {
     focusOn(document.getElementById(focus))
@@ -315,7 +321,7 @@ async function render(request, targets, el, config) {
   return targets
 }
 
-function merge(strategy, from, to) {
+async function merge(strategy, from, to) {
   let strategies = {
     before(from, to) {
       from.before(...to.childNodes)
@@ -354,7 +360,18 @@ function merge(strategy, from, to) {
     }
   }
 
-  return strategies[strategy](from, to)
+  if (!mergeConfig.get(from)?.transition || !document.startViewTransition) {
+    return strategies[strategy](from, to)
+  }
+
+  let freshEl = null
+  let transition = document.startViewTransition(() => {
+    freshEl = strategies[strategy](from, to)
+    return Promise.resolve()
+  })
+  await transition.updateCallbackDone
+
+  return freshEl
 }
 
 function focusOn(el) {