OpenAI dropped its AI-powered browser, ChatGPT Atlas. The browser wars are heating up! The browser is available now on only macOS - Windows, iOS, and Android coming soon. Is it just just another Chromium fork with a chatbot bolted on or a complete reimagining of how we interact with the web? With 800 million weekly ChatGPT users potentially switching browsers, this isn't just a product launch—it's OpenAI bidding to become the front door to the internet. ChatGPT Atlas And here is what 33 important internet people around the web think about OpenAI's Atlas browser announcement: "OpenAI promised us that they would build AGI and cure cancer instead they're building Google Chrome and TikTok clones" - Ali Farhat, @alifarhat79 @alifarhat79 "Google basically open sourced its own obsolescence twice in some sense... first by open sourcing chromium, then by publishing 'attention is all you need.' both were meant as flexes of dominance, but ended up being open source trojan horses for competitors. now every google killer" - @signulll @signulll "It's a chatbot. It's a browser. It's an OS. Are you getting it yet @Apple? These are not 3 separate things." - Ryan Jones, @rjonesy @rjonesy "BIG realization: ChatGPT Atlas makes web apps much more powerful than desktop apps." - Matthew Berman, @matthewberman @matthewberman "First interesting use case of ChatGPT Atlas: I navigated to a YT video and it immediately got access to the full transcript and gave me a breakdown of the video in the right column." - Gavin Purcell, @gavinpurcell @gavinpurcell "You can use it to summarise content, compare products and analyse data from any website you're using and you can even get it to interact with the site you're viewing for you. It will literally put items in your basket — MIND BLOWN 🤯 Atlas is turning every website into a data source for an AI-driven journey, which means Google's monopoly on search will continue to be chipped away at, and we're watching the start of a new ecosystem." - Jessica Atkinson, Organic Search Director at Embryo (LinkedIn) LinkedIn "Why would anyone want to chat with their web browser?" - Innovati0n (MacRumors Forums) MacRumors Forums "Wouldn't use this if they paid me to do so." - turbineseaplane (MacRumors Forums) MacRumors Forums "I get lonely sometimes, but not that lonely. I chat with my pet rock instead. He's a great listener and doesn't hallucinate." - navaira (MacRumors Forums) MacRumors Forums "Is it just going to scrape all of the content from the websites you visit since these giant AI companies have already sucked up all of the content on the open web into their models?" - Faceless_Caesar (ResetEra) ResetEra "We'll get mad on Era but the whole world gonna use this shit, it is what it is, no one wants to think anymore" - newphoria (ResetEra) ResetEra "My guess is that many ChatGPT Free users will make it their default browser just because of (4) — to extend their limits. Creative :)" - ZeljkoS (Hacker News) Hacker News "I'm already leery of how much my behavior is shaped by search engines and major aggregator algorithms on Reddit/X/etc... A full-on AI browser is a brain-smoothing privacy nightmare." - memory_register, Slashdot Slashdot "The security and privacy risks involved here still feel insurmountably high to me - I certainly won't be trusting any of these products until a bunch of security researchers have given them a very thorough beating." - Simon Willison Simon Willison "I tried out agent mode and it was like watching a first-time computer user painstakingly learn to use a mouse for the first time. I have yet to find my own use-cases for when this kind of interaction feels useful to me, though I'm not ruling that out." - Simon Willison Simon Willison "One thing I don't love about Atlas is the cognitive load in having both left and right ChatGPT toolbars. On the right, you'll find the seemingly now standard AI chat box. But on the left, you'll also find the standard-for-ChatGPT 'chat history toolbar'. I understand why OpenAI did this – again, it's what people know from ChatGPT – but despite the name, Atlas is not ChatGPT itself. And to that end, I don't really want everything I use Atlas for to go into my chat history." - M.G. Siegler, Spyglass Spyglass "Good news for $GOOG. While the Atlas browser is a step forward, especially around agents, it's not 10x better than Chrome. Google can (and will) copy these features quickly, making it harder for Atlas to gain share." - Gene Munster, Managing Partner at Deepwater Asset Management (Benzinga) Benzinga "If OpenAI can parlay its 800M weekly users into browser users, then Google will have its work cut out." - Gene Munster, Managing Partner at Deepwater Asset Management (IBTimes UK) IBTimes UK "Atlas raises the browser bar." - Gene Munster, Managing Partner at Deepwater Asset Management (Investing.com) Investing.com "Ultimately, Google is still the leader in search, but OpenAI's move with Atlas is worth watching." - Melissa Otto, Head of Research at S&P Global Visible Alpha (CBS News) CBS News "It will be a big challenge competing with a giant who has ridiculous market share." - Paddy Harrington, Analyst at Forrester Research (Detroit News) Detroit News "Your profile will be personally attuned to you based on all the information sucked up about you. OK, scary. But is it really you, really what you're thinking, or what that engine decides it's going to do? … And will it add in preferred solutions based on ads?" - Paddy Harrington, Analyst at Forrester Research (Silicon Valley) Silicon Valley "Atlas represents a half-step in that general direction. But getting to the finish line will require some significant breakthroughs." - Casey Newton, Platformer Platformer "Just woke up. Did I miss anything?" - Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI (Free Press Journal) Free Press Journal "It's perhaps worth noting that the statement 'We take steps to protect your privacy' rivals 'Security, we've heard of it' and 'Your call is very important to us' as vague, non-binding commitments." - The Register Editorial (The Register) The Register "OpenAI wants to be your front door to the internet and if they own the browser, they can theoretically cut Google out entirely." - MacKenzie Sigalos, CNBC Reporter (StartupHub) StartupHub "We think AI represents a rare, once-a-decade opportunity to rethink what a browser can be. In the same way that, for the previous way people used the internet, the URL bar and the search box were a great analogue, what we're starting to see is that the chat experience and the web browser can be a quick analogue." - Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO (TechCrunch) TechCrunch "This new model of search is really powerful. It's a multi-turn experience. You can have this back-and-forth with your search results instead of just being sent off to a web page." - Ben Goodger, Atlas Head of Engineering (TechCrunch) TechCrunch "Tabs were great, but we haven't seen a lot of browser innovation since then." - Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO (Fox5DC) Fox5DC "Despite all of the power and awesome capabilities that you get with sharing your browser with ChatGPT, that also poses an entirely new set of risks." - Pranav Vishnu, Product Lead for ChatGPT Atlas at OpenAI (Axios) Axios "Over time, 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." - Fidji Simo, CEO of Applications at OpenAI (TechCrunch) TechCrunch "Your browser is where all of your work, tools, and context come together. A browser built with ChatGPT takes us closer to a true super-assistant that understands your world and helps you achieve your goals." - Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO (CNN) CNN "I'm inspired by the way browsers have redefined what an operating system can look like. Turley noted that browsers have revolutionized the way people get work done online, and he thinks ChatGPT is a similar phenomenon." - Nick Turley, Head of ChatGPT at OpenAI (TechCrunch) TechCrunch The revealing split in reactions: some see AI as an essential internet companion, others as an unnecessary layer. Privacy skeptics warn about 'brain-smoothing privacy nightmares,' while industry observers believe browsing without an AI sidekick is becoming incomplete. Who will win the browser wars?
