Remember when the browser’s biggest innovation was tabbed browsing and incognito mode? Those days are gone. The next generation of browsers doesn’t just show you the internet — it understands it. Meet the AI-powered browsers: OpenAI’s Atlas, Perplexity’s Comet, and Microsoft’s Edge Copilot.
These aren’t search boxes with attitude. They’re assistants, researchers, and task-doers built right into the browser. They can summarize pages, compare products, execute online tasks, and — if you let them — fill out forms and do your shopping. Let’s see how they work, what they’re good for, and where to be cautious.
Atlas: ChatGPT Goes Native
OpenAI’s Atlas is a browser built around ChatGPT. Instead of typing keywords into Google and getting ten blue links, you ask your question directly in natural language — and Atlas answers it in context.
It’s built on Chromium, so it feels familiar, but the similarities end there. A persistent ChatGPT sidebar sits ready to summarize what’s on any page, compare specs, or extract insights. You might say: “Which of these laptops is best for gaming?” and get a neatly reasoned answer without leaving the site.
Atlas also introduces Agent Mode, which lets ChatGPT perform multi-step actions. In demos, it has automatically found recipes and ordered all the ingredients online. For now, it’s more experimental than everyday, but the direction is clear: the browser wants to do, not just show.
What makes Atlas more than a glorified chatbot is memory. It can recall what you’ve been reading and use that context to improve its answers — a kind of personalized browsing brain. That’s powerful, and a little unsettling, as we’ll see later when we talk about privacy.
Comet: The Web That Works With You
If Atlas is ChatGPT in a browser, Comet is a browser that acts like a colleague. Developed by Perplexity, Comet combines the company’s well-regarded Q&A engine with a fully functional browser. The result feels like working with an assistant who reads every page with you — and can take notes, answer questions, and carry out tasks.
You can tell Comet to “summarize this article,” “find this product elsewhere but with faster shipping,” or “schedule a meeting next Tuesday.” It doesn’t just pull results — it acts. The AI operates directly on live web content, turning browsing into a conversation rather than a hunt for the right link.
Comet also handles follow-up questions gracefully. You can ask for clarification, comparisons, or deeper analysis without losing context. It even cites its sources, so you know where the answers come from — a small but important nod to transparency.
Early users love the speed and intelligence, though it’s not without hiccups. Occasionally, the AI overreaches or misreads a page. But even with these flaws, Comet hints at a world where “browsing” becomes “delegating.”
Edge + Copilot: Microsoft’s Smart Upgrade
Microsoft, never one to miss a productivity trend, embedded Copilot into its Edge browser. Copilot is the same underlying AI that powers Bing Chat and Office 365’s assistant. But in Edge, it’s woven directly into the act of browsing.
The Copilot sidebar can summarize long pages, compare your open tabs, or help plan a purchase. You can literally ask, “Which of these hotels has the best reviews and is closest to the beach?” — and it will scan your open tabs to answer.
For productivity tasks, Copilot is impressive. It can rewrite text, generate summaries, and even help draft responses — all while you stay on the page. Since Edge is tied to Microsoft’s ecosystem, the experience feels consistent across Windows, Word, and Outlook.
Unlike Atlas or Comet, Copilot doesn’t take full control of the browsing experience. It’s more of a very capable sidebar — ideal for people who want help without giving the AI the steering wheel.
How AI Browsers Differ from Google
Traditional search engines like Google are static librarians. You ask, they hand you a pile of books, and you do the reading. AI browsers are more like research assistants — they skim the books for you and tell you what matters.
Here’s what sets them apart:
- Context awareness: AI browsers know what page you’re on and what you’ve been reading. They use that context to answer follow-up questions that Google simply can’t.
- Direct answers, not links: Instead of clicking through multiple sites, you get synthesized responses — often with citations.
- Action, not just search: AI browsers can interact with sites — filling forms, comparing items, or booking things. Google stops at showing you the options.
- Conversational refinement: You can ask for clarifications, add conditions, or rephrase queries naturally.
That said, for quick, factual queries — population of Uruguay, capital of Finland — Google still wins on speed. AI browsers shine when the question is complex, contextual, or involves multi-step reasoning.
Real-World Use Cases
Academic research: AI browsers can summarize academic papers, explain tough passages, and compare viewpoints. For students and researchers, it’s like having a tireless tutor.
Software development: Need to understand an API error or find a code example? These browsers can read documentation pages and suggest fixes without endless tab-hopping.
Shopping and comparisons: Atlas and Edge Copilot can weigh features, prices, and reviews directly from your open tabs. Comet can even locate faster shipping options or better deals.
Everyday productivity: Drafting emails, rewriting text, creating summaries, or organizing tabs — the AI handles the grunt work so you can stay focused.
In short, they reduce “browser busywork” and let you focus on decisions instead of searches.
Adoption: Early Days, Big Potential
These tools are new but gathering momentum. OpenAI’s Atlas only launched in late 2025, but with ChatGPT’s massive user base, it’s already getting attention. Comet went public earlier that year after a waitlist of millions. Edge Copilot is quietly becoming standard on Windows machines.
Still, Chrome rules the world — and old habits die hard. Many users are experimenting with AI browsers for specific tasks but sticking with Chrome for everyday browsing. Over time, as reliability improves, that may shift. AI browsers won’t replace search overnight, but they’re already changing user expectations.
Privacy and Security: The Price of Helpfulness
Here’s the catch: when your browser becomes your assistant, it sees everything.
AI browsers process page content, forms, and sometimes login data to perform actions. That means your sensitive information — shopping history, emails, even financial data — could, in theory, be exposed.
OpenAI and Perplexity stress that they don’t use browsing data for model training without consent and provide strict per-site controls. Still, any AI that can act on your behalf introduces risks: prompt injections, data leaks, or simple misunderstandings that lead to unintended actions.
Edge, built for enterprises, includes more robust data policies and opt-in controls. But the general rule remains: if you let an AI act like you, you’re trusting it deeply. Review settings carefully, especially around logged-in sessions or personal accounts.
The Bottom Line
AI browsers mark the biggest leap in web navigation since the search box itself. They turn the browser from a passive window into an active partner — one that reads, reasons, and acts.
They save time, encourage curiosity, and make the web feel conversational again. But they also raise new questions about trust, accuracy, and privacy.
Whether you’re an early adopter or a cautious observer, it’s worth giving one a spin. Just remember: this isn’t your grandfather’s browser. It’s more like hiring an assistant who lives in your laptop — helpful, clever, occasionally overconfident, and definitely watching what you do.
Welcome to the age of the thinking browser.