OpenAI has announced a new browser powered by AI, giving a glimpse into how people will navigate the web and shop online using AI agents in the future.
On Tuesday, the company behind ChatGPT revealed Atlas, an AI-powered browser built around the chatbot, which is available only on MacOS for now and for paying users.
The new offering has a raft of features, such as browser memories that let ChatGPT remember context from the sites users visit. However, “agent mode” is one feature that stands out.
When using Atlas in agent mode, the browser can research and analyze information and automate tasks on the fly while users continue to browse. It can also open tabs and click through to complete tasks on users’ behalf, explained OpenAI.
“It’s now better at researching and analyzing, automating tasks, and planning events or booking appointments while you browse.”
In-Browser Personal Assistant
Atlas agent mode essentially embeds a personal assistant inside the web browser.
Users can automate tasks such as organizing a dinner party with the AI agent taking a recipe, searching for stores with the ingredients, adding them to a cart, and arranging delivery.
The Atlas has several safety features, including the ability to prevent running code in the browser, downloading files, or installing extensions. It cannot access other apps on users’ computers or file systems and will pause before taking actions on sensitive sites, such as financial institutions.
Glimpse into the Future of Agentic AI
The OpenAI browser is one of the first looks into what a future with agentic AI embedded into technology could look like, while blockchain could supercharge it even further.
“We’ve entered the era of AI agents,” Frank Shaw, chief communications officer of Microsoft, said earlier this year.
“This emerging vision of the internet is an open agentic web, where AI agents make decisions and perform tasks on behalf of users or organizations,” he said at the time.
More recently, AI “agentic commerce” was a hot topic at the Fed’s Payment Innovation Conference on Tuesday, with ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood, Coinbase chief financial officer Alesia Haas, and Richard Widmann, Head of Strategy at Google Cloud, extolling the virtues of AI agents for autonomous payment systems.