Just Released: OpenAI’s First AI Browser — Not Like Chrome, But Aims to Change How You Surf the Web | Hands-On Test
OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Atlas — Its First Browser
OpenAI has just unveiled ChatGPT Atlas, marking its debut in the browser market.
For over a decade, Google Chrome has been the default gateway to the web for most users. But now, OpenAI is betting on a fully AI‑integrated browser — complete with memory features and agent capabilities — to change how people interact with the internet.
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What Makes Atlas Unique
OpenAI emphasizes that Atlas is built around ChatGPT, not simply a browser with AI bolted on. This means deeply integrated capabilities across your browsing experience.
Key Features
- Instant Sidebar Access
- Click “Ask ChatGPT” to open a sidebar that understands and interacts with the current page.
- It can summarize, explain, and assist with tasks on the page without losing context.
- AI Assistance Everywhere
- As you type in any text field, ChatGPT can offer real‑time suggestions and intelligent completions.
- Agent Mode
- Lets ChatGPT handle multi‑step tasks autonomously inside the browser.
Atlas is available now on macOS for Free, Plus, Pro, and Go accounts.
Windows, iOS, and Android versions are coming soon.
Download it here: chatgpt.com/atlas
> Note: Agent Mode is currently exclusive to Plus, Pro, and Business accounts, is in early development, and may produce errors on complex tasks. Setting Atlas as your default browser unlocks a 7‑day trial with higher usage limits.
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Memory Function — Your AI That Remembers
Atlas can remember the content of sites you’ve visited and recall it later on demand.
Example:
> “Find all the job postings I viewed last week, and summarize industry trends so I can prepare for interviews.”
This is AI as a true personal assistant — retaining context about your activities and acting on your behalf.
Privacy controls include:
- Clearing specific page records
- Wiping browsing history entirely
- Incognito mode (no ChatGPT login and no memory usage)
By default, browsed content is not used for model training.
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Parental Controls
Atlas inherits parental controls from ChatGPT and adds new browser‑specific settings:
- Disable memory
- Turn off Agent Mode
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Searching in Atlas — Google + ChatGPT
Atlas’s home page resembles ChatGPT’s UI.
When you search, you’re given two options:
- Google — opens results on Google’s search page
- Chat — generates an AI answer via ChatGPT, saved in your conversation history
You can browse results, images, videos, and news — all with quick navigation between chat and search.
Model performance varies, as seen in examples comparing GPT‑5 Instant and GPT‑5 Thinking:
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Atlas vs. Classic AI Plugins
Traditional AI plugins show up as sidebars or floating windows.
Atlas integrates ChatGPT directly into a split‑screen search view:
- Left side: Original webpage
- Right side: Ongoing AI conversation
This lets you:
- Highlight a word for instant explanation
- Summarize text without leaving the page
- Optimize content directly inline
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Inline Text Optimization Example
In a live demo, OpenAI staff:
- Drafted an email to a designer
- Highlighted a section
- Clicked ChatGPT → "Optimize language"
- Applied changes instantly by clicking Update
Result: No more copy‑paste dance between document and AI.
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Image Recognition & Creative Agent Mode
Atlas allows image uploads via Attach screenshot:
- Recognized an uploaded photo of Elon Musk
- In Agent Mode, drew a flower in an online tool in under 4 minutes
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Tab Invocation
You can reference open tabs using `@`, but currently only one at a time — a limitation likely to improve in future versions.
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Agent Mode in Action
Agent Mode is Atlas’s signature capability.
Demo examples:
- Planning a dinner for 8:
- Extracted ingredients from a recipe site
- Calculated portions
- Categorized shopping list by supermarket aisle
- Opened Instacart and filled the cart
- Workplace scenario:
- Opened team documents
- Completed competitor analysis
- Compiled a briefing for presentation
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Speed & Usability Observations
For a complex purchase request ("Buy me an iPhone 17 Pro Max from Apple's site"), Agent Mode took 19 minutes to complete checkout steps — slower than manual shopping.
Atlas’s Agent Mode feels like ChatGPT's Agent features embedded in a browser, with chat history synced across both environments.
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Overall Impression
Atlas merges the power of Google Search with ChatGPT’s conversational and task execution abilities, aiming to unify the search → understand → act workflow.
The project lead, Ben Goodger, has a notable history:
- Joined Google in 2005 to help build Chrome
- Became a core contributor
- Joined OpenAI in 2024 to head Atlas development
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Industry Context
AI browsers are on the rise:
- Perplexity Comet — geared toward power users
- Atlas — based on Chromium, designed for broad accessibility and positioned against Dia
Recent moves:
- Atlassian acquired Dia for $610M, making for the quirky "Atlas vs. Atlassian" branding coincidence.
OpenAI’s strategy:
- Shift from a super app to a product matrix
- ChatGPT as the AI operating system
- Specialized products like Sora and Atlas optimized for specific scenarios
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For Creators: Multi‑Platform AI Workflows
For content creators, platforms like AiToEarn官网 can:
- Generate AI‑powered content
- Publish across Douyin, Kwai, WeChat, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, X (Twitter) and more
- Analyze performance with built‑in analytics & AI model rankings
This mirrors Atlas’s idea:
AI core capabilities + optimized delivery for different audiences and platforms.
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In summary: Atlas is a bold experiment in making AI an always‑available part of web browsing — not an add‑on, but a central feature. It represents a step toward browsers that remember, understand, and act on behalf of the user, potentially reshaping the internet experience.
