Photo: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
OpenAI has introduced its first AI powered web browser ChatGPT Atlas,which aims to deliver a highly personalized web experience while handling practical tasks like booking flights or editing documents for users. Whenever someone visits a webpage, an “Ask ChatGPT” option appears in a sidebar, allowing direct interaction with the content. For instance, users could open a movie review and ask ChatGPT to summarize it, or view a recipe and have ChatGPT help order the necessary ingredients online.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated “This is an AI-powered web browser built around ChatGPT,” adding that AI has allowed for a rare opportunity to rethink the browser.
By transforming its widely used chatbot into a portal for web searches, OpenAI, the world’s most valuable startup, could capture greater internet traffic and digital advertising revenue. However, this shift also poses risks for online publishers, as ChatGPT’s ability to deliver concise summaries may discourage users from visiting traditional websites and clicking through to original sources.
Google’s stock dropped by as much as 4.8% following the announcement.Back in September, the company integrated its Gemini AI model into the Chrome browser. The update enabled Chrome’s AI to perform tasks such as explaining visited web pages, summarizing information from multiple tabs, and even reopening previously closed sites.
That move came just two weeks after a U.S. judge rejected a government proposal that would have forced Google to sell its Chrome browser. During court proceedings, executives from Perplexity and OpenAI revealed they would have considered purchasing Chrome if Google had been required to divest it.
OpenAI joins a growing wave of companies reinventing the web browser, a technology that’s been around since the 1990s, through artificial intelligence. Smaller AI startup Perplexity recently launched Comet, an assistant-like browser that automates user tasks, and even made an unsolicited $34.5 billion offer to buy Google’s Chrome after expressing interest in acquiring it. Meanwhile, Opera and The Browser Company are also expanding their browsers with advanced AI features, signaling a broader industry shift toward smarter, more interactive web experiences.
A standout feature of the ChatGPT Atlas browser is its premium “agent mode,” which can take control of the user’s laptop to navigate the web autonomously. Using the person’s browsing history and search intent, it performs actions online while explaining each step of its process.
According to AdAge, Atlas will initially launch worldwide for macOS, with versions for Windows, iOS, and Android coming “soon”. However, the more advanced AI agent capabilities will, for now, be limited to ChatGPT Plus and Pro subscribers.
