ChatGPT maker launches web browser Atlas to rival Google Chrome

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has launched a new artificial intelligence-powered web browser called Atlas, positioning it as a potential rival to industry giants like Google, which dominates the market with Chrome — the world’s most widely used browser.

Unlike traditional browsers, ChatGPT Atlas eliminates the address bar, a defining feature of search navigation. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described the browser as being “built around ChatGPT,” as it officially rolled out on Apple’s macOS platform on Tuesday.

The release of Atlas marks another step in OpenAI’s ongoing effort to monetise its AI technology and leverage its rapidly expanding user base. The company also revealed that Atlas will feature a paid “agent mode”, designed to perform autonomous searches through ChatGPT. This premium feature, available exclusively to ChatGPT Plus subscribers, enables the chatbot to interact intelligently with browsing contexts, making searches faster, smarter, and more adaptive.

In addition to Atlas, OpenAI has been aggressively expanding its ecosystem through strategic partnerships with major online platforms such as Etsy, Shopify, Expedia, and Booking.com, aiming to pull more users into its suite of AI-powered tools.

At the company’s DevDay event earlier this month, Altman announced that ChatGPT’s active user base had doubled in less than a year — surging from 400 million in February to 800 million weekly active users, according to data from Demandsage.

Industry experts, however, remain cautious about Atlas’s potential to disrupt the browser landscape. Pat Moorhead, CEO and chief analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, commented, “Early adopters will likely experiment with OpenAI’s new browser,” but expressed doubt that it would pose a serious threat to Chrome or Microsoft Edge, noting that “mainstream users and corporate environments will probably wait for their preferred browsers to introduce similar AI features.”

Moorhead also pointed out that Microsoft Edge already offers several AI-driven capabilities, positioning it ahead in the integration race.

OpenAI’s entry into the browser market follows a turbulent year for Google, which was declared an illegal monopolist in online search. Despite the ruling, the US Justice Department stopped short of forcing Google to divest its Chrome browser.

Meanwhile, the broader internet landscape is evolving as users increasingly turn to large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT for answers and recommendations. According to data from Datos, as of July, 5.99% of all desktop browser searches were handled by LLMs — more than double the percentage from the previous year.

Google, too, has ramped up its AI efforts, increasingly prioritising AI-generated responses in its search results as competition in the AI-driven search space intensifies.