During a livestream on Tuesday, OpenAI presented its AI browser, ChatGPT Atlas. AI browsers such as Perplexity’s Comet, Opera’s Neon, The Browser Company’s Dia, and Strawberry, backed by General Catalyst, have come before this. The launch from OpenAI stands out due to its potential to reach a vast audience of 800 million weekly ChatGPT users. The browser, for OpenAI, is more about keeping ChatGPT at the forefront than enhancing web browsing.
Atlas is currently exclusive to Mac, but the company plans to extend its availability to Windows, iOS, and Android—platforms where ChatGPT is already accessible. Unlike its competitors, OpenAI has made the browser accessible to all users, without requiring an invitation. The browser’s main premise is to encourage users to view ChatGPT as the primary tool for search and obtaining answers, instead of Google.
All AI browsers share a similar vision for search and Q&A. Instead of initiating a search query, users can type directly into the address bar to receive answers from an AI chatbot, eliminating the need to sift through pages of links.
Echoing other browser developers, OpenAI anticipates that Atlas will revolutionize web browsing, as emphasized by Sam Altman at its launch. Altman stated in his opening address, “We believe AI offers a once-in-a-decade chance to reimagine the browser, its usage, and how to maximize productivity on the web. Although tabs were innovative, there hasn’t been much progress since.”
AI is being hailed as a platform shift by tech leaders like Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai. Yet, consumer phones and desktop OS remain the dominant pathways to AI tools. OpenAI’s aim is to control the distribution channels of ChatGPT as much as possible. Last week, Meta restricted third-party chatbots, including ChatGPT and Perplexity, on WhatsApp, which boasts over 3 billion monthly users. This move highlights the risk of platform owners limiting distribution at any given moment.
Atlas offers OpenAI an opportunity to more effectively integrate ChatGPT and its other offerings compared to other platforms. Users can directly reference various websites instead of sharing links in ChatGPT. OpenAI already employed a headless browser for its agent. Atlas could give it more control over this capability. A writing assistant hover feature has already been integrated, appearing in text fields.
Furthermore, the company is planning to incorporate its App SDK, which enables ChatGPT to interact with other apps, to enhance discoverability.
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The memory feature is also essential for avid ChatGPT users. By considering browsing history alongside ChatGPT interactions, it aims to provide contextually relevant answers. One could ask, “Where is the work document containing my presentation plan?” and ChatGPT would retrieve the link. This implies that ChatGPT gains deeper user understanding over time. OpenAI can leverage this context for other applications upon wider rollout of Sign in with ChatGPT.
Both the memory feature and making ChatGPT the default address bar option are intended to feed more data to OpenAI, enriching its user understanding and enabling better product delivery. The browser lacks a translate function, reading mode, VPN, or ad-blocker to enhance browsing for a specific site. Instead, users must rely on ChatGPT for summarizing content or finding on-page information. It’s as if the primary goal of opening a page is to enrich ChatGPT’s understanding rather than facilitate user content consumption.
Conversely, The Browser Company’s Arc presented innovative browser experience concepts, such as AI-driven file renaming and webpage customization through element removal.
The outcome transcends a mere browser; it’s a significantly expanded platform for ChatGPT. Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of applications, articulated this vision in her blog post announcing the Atlas launch.
Simo explained, “Upon releasing ChatGPT initially, we lacked certainty regarding its application. With input and insights from millions globally, it’s evident that ChatGPT must evolve beyond its original form as a chatbot. We envision ChatGPT maturing into an operating system for life: a comprehensive hub for managing daily activities and pursuing long-term objectives.”
OpenAI’s major challenge involves convincing users to switch from their default browsers like Chrome, Safari, or Edge, thereby capturing market share from Google, Apple, and Microsoft. While OpenAI is observing consistent growth in ChatGPT usage, it remains unclear whether the average user is ready to integrate their browser with a chatbot just yet. Chrome’s success stemmed from its speed and the appeal of using Google queries as the default gateway to the internet. ChatGPT Atlas caters to users who have already shifted from Google to ChatGPT. However, persuading billions to adopt this habit is crucial for OpenAI to truly rival Chrome.
