OpenAI launches AI Atlas browser in latest challenge to Google

Oct 21 (Reuters) – OpenAI on Tuesday unveiled ChatGPT Atlas, a highly anticipated artificial intelligence-based web browser built around its popular chatbot, in a direct challenge to Google Chrome’s dominance.

This launch marks OpenAI’s latest move to capitalize on ChatGPT’s 800 million weekly active users, as it expands into more aspects of users’ online lives by collecting data on consumers’ browsing behavior. This could accelerate a broader shift to AI-powered search as users increasingly turn to conversational tools that synthesize information instead of relying on Google’s traditional keyword-based results, which would intensify competition between OpenAI and Google.

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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 paying users, ChatGPT can interact with websites on their behalf, completing tasks from start to finish, such as searching for and purchasing travel.

In a demo Tuesday, OpenAI developers showed how ChatGPT could find a recipe online and then automatically purchase all the ingredients. The agent accessed the Instacart website and added the necessary groceries to the cart – a task that took several minutes.

Led by Sam Altman, OpenAI shook up the tech industry with the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. After its initial success, the company faced stiff competition from Google and startup Anthropic and sought new areas of growth.

Despite growing competition, Google Chrome retained its dominance, with 71.9% market share of the global browser market in September, according to StatCounter. Still, analysts say a new browser from OpenAI could introduce new competition for advertising dollars.

“Bringing chat into a browser is a precursor to OpenAI starting to sell ads, something it hasn’t done yet. Once OpenAI starts selling ads, it could take a significant chunk of search advertising share away from Google, which accounts for about 90% of that spending category,” said Gil Luria, an analyst at DA Davidson.

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