In a bold move shaking up Silicon Valley’s tech hierarchy, OpenAI has unveiled its long-awaited AI-powered web browser, ChatGPT Atlas, positioning it as a direct challenger to Google’s Chrome the world’s most dominant browser.
The launch underscores OpenAI’s growing ambitions to extend ChatGPT’s reach beyond conversations and into users’ everyday browsing experiences. With more than 800 million weekly ChatGPT users, the company is betting big on integrating artificial intelligence into how people search, shop, and interact online.
Atlas combines the familiar functionality of a web browser with the power of conversational AI. It allows users to open a ChatGPT sidebar that can summarize lengthy pages, compare products, analyze data, or even automate online tasks. A special “agent mode,” available for paid subscribers, takes things further enabling ChatGPT to interact with websites independently, completing actions like researching travel options, filling forms, or even purchasing items online.
During a live demo on Tuesday, OpenAI developers showed ChatGPT finding a recipe and automatically ordering all the required ingredients via Instacart navigating the site and checking out the cart without human input.
The new browser is currently available worldwide on Apple’s macOS, with versions for Windows, iOS, and Android expected soon.
OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, who reshaped the AI landscape with ChatGPT’s release in late 2022, appears to be taking the company deeper into the consumer web ecosystem a move that could unsettle Google’s decades-long dominance in both search and browser markets.
Google, which has integrated its Gemini AI model into Chrome for U.S. users, has been racing to keep pace with this shift toward conversational search. The company’s AI Overview feature now summarizes search results, offering an experience that blends traditional links with chatbot-style responses.
Still, Chrome remains a powerhouse. As of September, it commanded 71.9% of the global browser market, according to StatCounter. Yet analysts warn that OpenAI’s new browser could quietly reshape how digital advertising dollars are spent.
“Embedding chat directly into a browser sets the stage for OpenAI to eventually enter the ad business,” noted Gil Luria, analyst at D.A. Davidson. “If that happens, it could chip away at Google’s dominance in search advertising a market where Google currently controls nearly 90% of spending.”
The development comes amid broader regulatory scrutiny of Google’s market power. In September, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google would not be forced to sell its Chrome browser but noted that growing investments in generative AI across the industry could soon disrupt traditional search models.
As AI continues to weave itself into daily browsing, OpenAI’s Atlas represents more than just a new product launch it signals the beginning of a new era in how people navigate and interact with the internet itself.
