OpenAI Launches Atlas Browser, Challenging Google’s Search Dominance

By Jon Swartz

OpenAI announced the debut Tuesday of Atlas, its first web browser, as the ChatGPT maker escalates competition with rival Google.

The move, which comes as consumers increasingly turn to artificial intelligence (AI) for online answers, is part of a larger strategy by OpenAI to capture internet traffic and tap into lucrative digital advertising markets. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called Atlas a “rare, once-a-decade opportunity to rethink what a browser can be about and how to use one.”

Atlas launched on Apple Inc. laptops immediately and will later come to Microsoft Corp.’s Windows, Apple’s iOS phone operating system, and Google’s Android phone system.

The new web browser, which integrates ChatGPT directly into the browsing experience, resembles a conventional web browser with standard features that include tabs, bookmarks, extensions, and incognito mode. However, it distinguishes itself by incorporating ChatGPT functionality throughout the interface. When users open a new tab, they can either enter a traditional URL or pose questions directly to ChatGPT. The browser organizes results into separate tabs by content type, including search links, images, videos, and news.

The launch is the latest salvo in the emerging market for AI-enhanced browsing tools. Google has already integrated its Gemini AI assistant into Chrome, while Perplexity, an AI search tool developer, introduced Comet, a Chromium-based AI-powered browser, earlier this year.

Still, OpenAI’s entry raises concerns among digital publishers about the future of web traffic. If users increasingly rely on ChatGPT’s condensed summaries rather than visiting original sources, the reasoning goes, traditional websites could see further erosion of the click-through traffic that sustains their business models.

OpenAI’s entry into the browser space presents a significant uphill battle. Chrome commands approximately 3 billion users worldwide and has begun incorporating AI capabilities through Google’s Gemini technology, giving it substantial advantages in both market share and established infrastructure. OpenAI has said ChatGPT already has more than 800 million users but many of them get it for free.

While OpenAI positions Atlas as an “AI browser agent” and expands OpenAI’s interface capabilities, the product enters a market where Google has already embedded AI agents across its vast ecosystem of daily-use products — Gmail, Docs, Search, Chrome, and Android — that are used by billions of users, according to Daniel Newman, CEO of The Futurum Group.

Google Cloud remains the leading cloud platform for AI startups, reinforcing the tech giant’s position in the AI sector. Despite concerns about competition from OpenAI and other AI firms, Google has maintained its dominance across search, cloud services, and AI development, Newman said.

Data from SimilarWeb also indicates Google has been consistently growing its generative AI traffic share at OpenAI’s expense, suggesting the search giant’s integrated approach may be proving effective against standalone AI products.

AI expert David Bader said Atlas represents a “fundamental architectural shift in how browsers leverage AI — moving from a search-centric web to an AI-native web.”

“By integrating ChatGPT directly into the browsing experience with continuous context awareness and browser memory capabilities, OpenAI is essentially turning the browser into a persistent data collection and learning system,” Bader said in an email. “From a data science perspective, this is both fascinating and raises important questions. The browser memory feature creates a continuous learning loop where the AI observes your browsing behavior to get smarter, building incredibly detailed behavioral profiles in the process. The opt-out default for training is a positive step, but users must share significant browsing data to get the personalization benefits.”

Added Alex Conway, principal software engineer at DataRobot, “Today, most work and personal computer use is being done in the browser so OpenAI bringing their products there makes a lot of sense. It’s going to be a tall order to ask people to migrate into a new web browser, so OpenAI starts at a disadvantage here. Moving first (relative to Google) in the AI browser space is therefore important for them, and the Mac-first release might reflect more confidence in going after Safari users than Windows users of Edge and Chrome. Google’s entry into the market might require a deeper collaboration with Microsoft’s Edge if they are going to truly crush the competition. Enterprise adoption is another angle where Google has the incumbent advantage, especially if they leverage their partnership with Edge.”

OpenAI’s new browser arrives just months after a company executive testified that the world’s most valuable startup considered buying Chrome if a federal judge ordered its sale as part of antitrust remedies. The testimony came during proceedings related to a case in which Google’s dominant search engine was ruled an illegal monopoly. The Justice Department had sought Chrome’s divestiture to address anticompetitive practices.

However, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta rejected the Chrome sale proposal last month, determining that rapid developments in the AI sector are already transforming the competitive dynamics of the browser and search markets.

https://techstrong.ai/articles/openai-launches-atlas-browser-challenging-googles-search-dominance/