OpenAI unveils AI search browser Atlas in challenge to Google
ChatGPT-maker OpenAI on Tuesday unveiled ChatGPT Atlas, an AI-powered web browser built around its popular chatbot, in a direct challenge to Google Chrome's dominance.
The launch marks OpenAI's newest effort to leverage 800 million weekly active ChatGPT users, as it broadens its presence in more areas of users' online lives by gathering data on consumers' browsing behavior. It could speed up a larger shift toward AI-powered search, as more users turn to conversational tools that compile information instead of depending on traditional keyword-based results from Google – increasing competition between OpenAI and Google.
It is OpenAI's newest entry in a crowded market of AI browsers, which includes Perplexity's Comet, Brave Browser, and Opera's Neon, as companies compete to incorporate tools that can summarize pages, fill out forms, and draft code to attract users.
Atlas allows users to open a ChatGPT sidebar in any window to summarize content, compare products, or analyze data from any site. In "agent mode," now available to paid users, ChatGPT can interact with websites on their behalf—completing tasks from start to finish, such as researching and shopping for a trip.
During a demo on Tuesday, OpenAI developers demonstrated how ChatGPT could find an online recipe and then automatically purchase all the ingredients. The agent navigated to the Instacart website and added the necessary groceries to the cart – a process that took several minutes.
The browser is now available worldwide on Apple's macOS. Versions for Windows, iOS, and Android will be released later.
Led by Sam Altman, OpenAI disrupted the tech industry with the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. After its initial success, the company has faced stiff competition from Google and startup Anthropic, and it has been exploring new areas for growth.
Google has been developing ways to adjust to changing search behaviors since ChatGPT's debut. Depending on the query, each Google search result now can display an AI overview, or AI Mode, alongside traditional links, providing a chatbot-like experience. Last month, Google integrated its Gemini AI model into Chrome for U.S. users, with plans to extend Gemini to the iOS Chrome app.
In a victory for Google, a federal judge in September ruled that Google is not required to sell the Chrome browser. Judge Amit Mehta stated that Google can continue compensating partners to promote its search engine, noting that significant investments in generative AI by both Big Tech and startups now threaten traditional search, making such payments more permissible.
Despite rising competition, Google Chrome has kept its dominance, holding a 71.9 percent market share in the worldwide browser market in September, according to StatCounter, a web traffic analysis site. Still, analysts say a new browser from OpenAI could bring fresh competition for ad dollars.
"Integrating chat into a browser is a precursor for OpenAI starting to sell ads, which it has yet to do so far. Once OpenAI starts selling ads that could take away a significant part of search advertising share from Google, which has around 90 percent of that spend category," said Gil Luria, analyst at the investment firm D.A. Davidson.