What Is Atlas? What to Know About OpenAI's New Web Browser – Built In
OpenAI is shaking things up once again with the launch of its new browser, Atlas. But the move may be less about ending Google’s search dominance and more about closing in on AI supremacy — of course, achieving both wouldn’t hurt.
OpenAI is placing the power of generative AI in the hands of internet users with the launch of its new browser, Atlas. Built on Google’s open-source Chromium engine, Atlas allows users to access ChatGPT directly on a web page, facilitating natural language conversations for a more interactive web experience. The browser also promises to leverage agentic AI for automating multi-step tasks, helping users maximize their productivity.
Atlas is OpenAI’s new web browser that runs on Google’s Chromium engine. The browser integrates ChatGPT as a built-in feature that users can access on any web page, so the chatbot can gather context to inform its responses and even retain this context for future searches. In addition, Atlas comes with an agent mode to automate various tasks.
That said, Atlas is far from original, as it joins a growing list of AI web browsers invading the search industry. So, why is OpenAI throwing its hat into an increasingly crowded field? The answer may have to do more with its plans for artificial intelligence than its desire to conquer search. Either way, OpenAI’s Atlas could accelerate the industry’s adoption of AI, changing how people use the internet and challenging Google in the process.
“We think that AI represents a rare, once-in-a-decade opportunity to rethink what a browser can be about,” Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, said during a company livestream. “The way that we hope people will use the internet in the future — and what we’re starting to see — is that the chat experience and a web browser can be a great analog.”
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Atlas is OpenAI’s new web browser that integrates the company’s chatbot, ChatGPT, into the user experience when navigating the internet. Once on a web page, users can click the “Ask ChatGPT” button in the top-right corner to open a sidebar and instantly access ChatGPT, which can gather context from the current page. This contextual ability enables the chatbot to more quickly complete tasks like answering questions, providing data insights and offering product comparisons based on the content the user is viewing.
Atlas can also remember context from web pages, forming what OpenAI calls “browser memories.” The idea is that users will be able to hold more natural conversations with ChatGPT since it can recall their habits from previous searches. For instance, a user could ask, “Can you pull up the website for that Mexican restaurant I viewed last week?”
The feature that’s bound to turn heads, though, is the browser’s agent mode. When entering a query, users can click the “Agent” button at the bottom of the sidebar, converting the browser into an AI agent that performs the written request or command. The idea is that the user can then attend to other matters while the agent completes its assigned task in the background. As an example, an OpenAI engineer demonstrated during the company’s livestream how Atlas can automatically analyze an online recipe and shop for the ingredients on Instacart.
At the same time, OpenAI offers a range of data privacy settings, so users can decide when and how to use these features. Different controls allow users to delete their chat history, web browsing history and browser memories, among other privacy options. Users also get to choose when to activate Atlas’ agent, and they always have the freedom to reject whenever the browser suggests that the agent take over.
Atlas is available only to macOS users with a ChatGPT Free, Plus, Pro or Go plan. Those with a Business plan can access the beta version of Atlas. However, its agent mode can only be previewed for now by Plus, Pro and Business users. In the meantime, Windows, iOS and Android users can stay tuned for a wider release.
For macOS users who are ready to try ChatGPT Atlas, follow these steps:
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Rival AI startup Perplexity beat OpenAI to the punch, launching its Comet web browser back in July. Comet runs on Perplexity’s AI-powered search engine, enabling it to serve a variety of use cases for job seekers, startups and more. Otherwise, the two AI browsers can perform many of the same tasks, including:
Perhaps the biggest difference lies in the two browsers’ availability. Because of its head start, Perplexity has expanded Comet’s access and made it free to download for all users.
It might seem like OpenAI is merely following Perplexity’s lead, but originality may not be the point of Atlas. Rather, it could introduce just enough novelty to win over users who have grown used to a familiar search experience, posing a direct threat to Perplexity — and more importantly, Google.
Google still rules the internet, with its Chrome browser holding about 72 percent of the global market share as of 2025. But traditional web browsers have begun to lose web traffic to chatbots, particularly ChatGPT. According to a Pew Research study, about a third of all U.S. adults now use ChatGPT, with 26 percent using it to learn something new and 22 percent for entertainment. And ChatGPT’s influence will likely grow thanks to Atlas — a possibility not lost on investors, as Alphabet shares sank shortly after Atlas’ release.
Beyond the stock market, the courts have recognized generative AI as a legitimate challenge to Google as well. In the tech giant’s antitrust case, U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta noted how generative AI “changed the course of this case,” arguing that chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude and xAI’s Grok provided enough competition to justify keeping Google’s business intact.
Although OpenAI didn’t get to make a bid for Chrome as a result, this might’ve been a blessing in disguise. Atlas is an AI-centric browser that places ChatGPT at the center of the user experience, while Google has tried to spruce up Chrome with features like its AI overviews. Instead of dealing with Chrome’s limitations, OpenAI has designed a browser that could prove to be the tipping point that finally topples Chrome. Regardless, search dominance is merely a stepping stone on the way to OpenAI’s ultimate goal: total AI supremacy.
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It’s no secret that AI browsers are meant to collect user data — something that Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas confirmed before Comet’s release. The supposed benefit of giving an AI tool access to reams of online data is a more personalized user experience, which OpenAI is attempting to promote as the purpose behind Atlas as well.
“By connecting ChatGPT to all these parts of your life and understanding more about what you’re trying to accomplish, we can do a much better job putting this incredibly powerful intelligence at your service,” Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of Applications, wrote in a blog post. “We see ChatGPT evolving to become the operating system for your life: a fully connected hub that helps you manage your day and achieve your long-term goals.”
Of course, enabling a web browser to track digital activity has raised major security concerns among web experts. After all, users are already willing to broach sensitive topics with ChatGPT to the point of suffering psychological effects. There’s no telling then what kinds of personal information users might give away to ChatGPT when it follows them across the internet, whether intentionally or not.
More troubling, though, is the trend of OpenAI expanding into industries adjacent to artificial intelligence. In 2025 alone, the company has made moves to break into robotics, consumer tech and semiconductors — and now, with the launch of Atlas, web browsing. Not only do these ventures provide diverse avenues for compiling the real-time data needed to train and refine AI models, but they also lay the groundwork for a sprawling empire that grants OpenAI greater control over how products like ChatGPT are designed and distributed to users.
Given the specific sectors OpenAI has targeted, it’s clear that the company doesn’t want to just beat tech titans like Google and Apple — it wants to be them. At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before the AI startup solidifies its reign.
Atlas is OpenAI’s new web browser that effectively allows users to converse with ChatGPT on any web page. In this setup, ChatGPT can glean context from web pages and remember that context for future searches, facilitating more natural interactions with internet users. The browser also comes with an agent mode that can automate tasks when prompted by users.
A third of U.S. adults already use ChatGPT, including 58 percent of adults under 30, according to a Pew Research study. With the release of Atlas, ChatGPT is bound to reach an even broader audience, stealing traffic from Google’s Chrome browser. The legal realm has even recognized this threat to Google, with a U.S. district court judge ruling that chatbots like ChatGPT presented enough competition to justify lighter penalties for Google in its antitrust case.
Alongside OpenAI’s ventures in robotics and consumer tech, the Atlas browser serves as yet another pipeline for collecting more data that can be used to train its AI models. Factor in the company’s expansion in the semiconductor sector, and Atlas becomes merely one part of OpenAI’s strategy to control every aspect of designing and distributing products like ChatGPT.
