What Edge Copilot Mode Says About the AI-Powered Future of Web Browsing (Premium)

My recent experiences with Perplexity Comet were eye-opening. But there are a few other AI web browsers out there, like The Browser Company's Dia and Microsoft Edge in Copilot Mode, and others on the way, like Opera Neon. Where do things stand today with these products, how do they compare with Comet, and is it reasonable to assume that all browsers will eventually work similarly when it comes to AI functionality?

Let's start with Microsoft Edge and its new Copilot Mode.
?‍✈️ Copilot Mode
Copilot Mode is, for now, the least ambitious of the AI browser options. But to be fair to Microsoft, it's still a big step forward from the AI experiences we see in other popular, mainstream browsers like Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. And it's still early: Microsoft describes Copilot Mode as experimental, and as a "step toward building a more powerful way to pilot the web." That language is interesting. It suggests that a more sophisticated experience is coming, but also that the current "copiloting" of Edge will give way to a new AI-centric browser, if not a completely different AI-centric experience.

But first things first. In its initial form, Copilot Mode is an experience you can toggle on and, if desired off. Assuming you're on the latest Edge version, you will be prompted to do so. But you can find the controls for Copilot Mode under the new "AI innovations" page in Edge settings.

When you enable Copilot Mode, the Edge user interface changes ever so slightly: The Copilot button moves from the far right side of the Edge toolbar to the far left side of the address bar, and so this button has changed in Edge almost as much as the Taskbar-based Copilot shortcut in Windows 11.

You're also given a quick tour of Copilot Mode that describes its major new features and changes. They are:

New modern homepage. This is a minimalist New tab experience, actually, that has the same light tan look and feel as the Copilot app in Windows 11 and is an oasis of calm compared to the default New tab experience in Edge. But I typically use a free extension called Bonjourr---which is similar to Momentum--as a New tab page in Edge and other browsers, and so using Copilot Mode overrides that. More on this homepage (New tab page) below.

Quick assist. If you use Copilot in Windows 11, you know that it wants to enable a Quick assist feature that lets you quickly access Copilot in a minimal window as you work by typing Alt + Space. Quick assist is a bit like that, but in the browser, and it appears when you click the newly relocated Copilot button or type Alt + C while in the browser. This is a simpler way to access Copilot while you browse so you can do things like summarize the current webpage, document, or video, or anything else you may do with Copilot. But if you like the old Copilot pane better, you can toggle that on instead.

Simple task handoff. Copilot Chat in the (new) New tab supports a new Actions mode that is to Copilot on the web what...