OpenAI Challenges Google Chrome with ‘Atlas’: What to Know About the New AI-Powered Web Browser Built Around ChatGPT

After disrupting the generative AI segment, OpenAI has now launched “Atlas”, a full-fledged web browser with its popular AI chatbot, ChatGPT, built into the very core of the experience. The browser launches initially on macOS, with versions for Windows, iOS and Android coming soon. The aim is to challenge the dominance of Google Chrome, one of the most widely used browsers across the globe. 

Rather than just being an add-on, Atlas lets you ask ChatGPT questions right inside your browsing window, act on what you see, and automate tasks you’d normally switch tabs (or tools) for.

“With Atlas, ChatGPT can come with you anywhere across the web—helping you in the window right where you are, understanding what you’re trying to do, and completing tasks for you, all without copying and pasting or leaving the page. Your ChatGPT memory is built in, so conversations can draw on past chats and details to help you get new things done,” OpenAI writes in a blog post. 

What are the features of Atlas?

ChatGPT Atlas is an AI-powered web browser that seamlessly integrates ChatGPT into your daily browsing. Built on the familiar Chromium engine, it offers standard features like tabs and bookmarks but adds a powerful new ChatGPT sidebar to summarise pages or help you write. Its standout feature, "Agent Mode" for paid users, allows the AI to act on your behalf—handling complex tasks like booking trips or ordering groceries by interacting with websites automatically, all while using its memory to provide personalised, context-aware assistance.

How is it different from Chrome?

While Google Chrome has recently added AI features, ChatGPT Atlas is fundamentally different because it was designed from the ground up to be an AI assistant first, and a browser second. The core difference lies in the depth of AI integration: Chrome's AI features are often optional tools, whereas Atlas seamlessly embeds the chat experience as a constant companion on every page. This enables the powerful Agent Mode, which allows the AI to automate multi-step tasks for you, moving from merely suggesting information to actively completing actions like booking flights. Furthermore, Atlas uses a deeper memory of your user context and preferences to provide highly personalised, AI-driven help, fundamentally blending the act of browsing, searching, and chatting right from its home screen..

Pros and Cons

Pros:

If it works well, Atlas could save users time: one tool instead of many (browser + chat + task manager).

Improved productivity: summarising pages, editing text in-line, and automating repetitive tasks could make life easier.

For AI enthusiasts and power users, this offers a novel workflow where the AI sits right inside your browsing context.

Since it’s built on Chromium, compatibility with existing web standards and extensions may be better than a totally new engine.

Cons:

Privacy and data concerns: Using “memories” and agent mode implies deeper access to your browsing, so users must opt in and trust how data is handled.

New browser adoption is hard: Users are very comfortable with Chrome. Convincing people to switch is tough.

Early versions often have bugs or features missing: Agent mode is in preview, some features may be buggy or missing.

Reliance on AI means risk of mistakes: AI summarisation or task automation can misinterpret context, make wrong decisions sometimes.

Read More: OpenAI Challenges Chrome with AI-Powered Atlas Browser