OpenAI launches ChatGPT Atlas, seeks to upend's Chrome's supremacy

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OpenAI on Tuesday launched ChatGPT Atlas, an artificial intelligence-powered web browser that embeds its popular chatbot into everyday browsing — directly challenging Google Chrome's grip on the market.

The move marks OpenAI's latest effort to monetise its 800 million weekly active ChatGPT users and extend its reach into users' online behaviour, potentially reshaping how people search and surf the web.

Shares of Alphabet, which owns Chrome, fell 1.8 per cent in afternoon trading following the announcement, according to Reuters.

Atlas joins a growing field of AI-integrated browsers — including Perplexity's Comet, Brave, and Opera's Neon — that promise smarter navigation, summarisation, and automation features.

The browser features a ChatGPT sidebar that can summarise articles, compare products, or analyse on-page data. A paid "agent mode" allows ChatGPT to act autonomously — booking trips, shopping online, or filling out forms.

In a live demo, OpenAI engineers showed ChatGPT automatically purchasing recipe ingredients via Instacart, completing the process in minutes.

Atlas is rolling out globally for macOS, with Windows, iOS, and Android versions to follow.

The launch comes as Google pushes back with Gemini AI integration inside Chrome, which now offers AI-generated overviews alongside traditional links.

Chrome remains the clear leader with a 71.9 per cent global market share in September, per StatCounter, followed by Apple’s Safari (18.6 per cent), Microsoft Edge (5.2 per cent), and Mozilla Firefox (2.4 per cent).