OpenAI Atlas Browser Hands On: I’m Not Convinced the Web Needs a Chatbot Tour Guide

OpenAI’s precocious launched Atlas browser is simply a fascinating inversion of what users whitethorn expect from a browser, centering AI answers supra accepted web links. Every click successful a regular browser is simply a chance to spot a caller portion of nan web. Every click successful Atlas is simply a chance to usage ChatGPT.

Just typed a mobility into nan reside bar? That’s now a ChatGPT query. Want thief contextualizing a web page? The Ask ChatGPT sidebar tin spot and analyse what’s connected your screen. Want personification to bargain your Halloween costume? The “agent mode” tin click astir connected Amazon and propulsion immoderate vampire fangs into your cart.

Ryan O’Rouke, OpenAI’s lead designer for the browser, demonstrated nan Ask ChatGPT characteristic during nan livestream announcement of Atlas. He asked it to summarize GitHub codification appearing connected nan web page successful his browser. He called it “a awesome unlock,” since ChatGPT tin now spot what's happening connected nan page. "It's fundamentally you inviting ChatGPT into your area of nan internet," O’Rouke said.

The Ask ChatGPT characteristic is notably free to usage successful Atlas, dissimilar nan browser supplier instrumentality that’s reserved for subscribers to ChatGPT Plus and ChatGPT Pro. Here, ChatGPT shows up arsenic different column-constrained bot connected nan correct broadside of your screen, successful nan aforesaid vein arsenic nan AI sidebars successful Perplexity’s Comet browser and Microsoft’s Edge.

After a fewer days of testing OpenAI’s Ask ChatGPT characteristic successful nan Atlas Browser, I’m convinced that I want to surf nan web alone. Sans sidebar. In peace.

The browser is built utilizing Chromium, an open-source browser task managed by Google that provides nan codebase for Chrome, Opera, and others. Because of this, Atlas looks a batch for illustration Chrome. (As I swiped betwixt nan 2 browsers connected my laptop during testing, I forgot which was which a mates of times.) The nascent browser’s champion days are still up of it, pinch a roadmap of upcoming features specified arsenic tab groups and an ad-blocker that could build it up to beryllium a much afloat realized competitor to Chrome. It’s disposable only connected macOS for nan clip being.

With that successful mind, nan Ask ChatGPT sidebar successful Atlas felt clunky during my first mates of days. Not only was it difficult to get utilized to, I recovered myself having problem reasoning of questions to inquire astir nan news articles, online recipes, and different web pages arsenic I scrolled around. Also, nan sidebar squishes nan main contented window, truthful websites you sojourn whitethorn look skinnier than usual. It compressed nan WIRED homepage, leaving it looking incredibly janky.