OpenAI Will Reportedly Launch New AI-Powered Browser in the Coming Weeks

OpenAI is planning to launch its own AI-powered web browser in the coming weeks, according to Reuters. The new web browser is reportedly part of the company’s strategy to change how consumers browse the web and challenge the dominant position of Google Search and Google Chrome.

The report says that OpenAI’s new browser will “keep some user interactions within a ChatGPT-like native chat interface instead of clicking through to websites.” The AI-powered web browser is also built on Chromium, the open-source browser engine that powers Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and other browsers like Vivaldi, Opera, and more.

OpenAI previously expressed its interest in purchasing Google Chrome if the US Department of Justice’s proposal to divest it became effective. As it turns out, the AI startup maker didn’t want to wait for this eventuality, and it may have a good shot at competing with Chrome thanks to its 500 million weekly active users of ChatGPT.

“A web browser would allow OpenAI to directly integrate its AI agent products such as Operator into the browsing experience, enabling the browser to carry out tasks on behalf of the user,” people familiar with the matter told Reuters. “The browser’s access to a user’s web activity would make it the ideal platform for AI “agents” that can take actions on their behalf, like booking reservations or filling out forms, directly within the websites they use.”

With its own web browser, OpenAI could make ChatGPT Search the default way to search information on the Internet, which could potentially harm Google’s bottom line. Google makes most of its revenue from targeted ads based on search and web browsing data, and OpenAI may also be interested in collecting more user data for advertising purposes.

The news of OpenAI launching its web browser very soon comes right after its competitor Perplexity launched Comet, its own AI web browser. Comet uses Perplexity’s search engine, and it’s currently only available via waitlist for customers paying for the company’s $200/month Perplexity Max subscription.