Here’s what’s on our plate today:

• 🖥️ OpenAI’s new AI-first browser aims at Chrome supremacy.

• 🛠️ Arc Search, Sidekick AI Browser, SigmaOS Wonder.

• 🗞️ Google’s AI ads land in India, Yaccarino quits X, IKEA ditches Sonos.

• ❓ Would you swap Chrome for a chatbot-powered browser?

Let’s dive in. No floaties needed…

The Laboratory

Can OpenAI’s new browser challenge Google Chrome?

Since ChatGPT launched in 2022, public discussions on technology have predominantly focused on artificial intelligence. The impact of AI chatbots on work, personal space, and business is part of the conversation. However, while users were experimenting with AI chatbots, there was a quiet shift in their preference when it came to how they search for information on the internet. Imagine asking your browser to plan a vacation, compare hotel prices, book flights, and send confirmations to your calendar, without ever opening a tab.

The rise of AI chatbots didn’t just alter how people interact with machines; it reshaped expectations around search. Tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini began offering direct answers instead of link lists, reducing dependence on traditional search engines. Users increasingly sought out AI to summarize articles, compare options, or even draft emails. This quiet change in user behavior exposed a gap: while AI models were evolving, the browser environment remained static. Most users still rely on Chrome, a browser optimized for tabbed browsing and link-based navigation, now an outdated approach compared to AI’s conversational capabilities.

That’s the world OpenAI aims to build. To achieve it, the company needs its own web browser, and it might be close to releasing an AI-powered web browser that will challenge Alphabet's market-dominating Google Chrome. The browser is expected to launch in the coming weeks and could use artificial intelligence to fundamentally change how consumers browse the web.

OpenAI’s new browser has long been in the making

Reports that OpenAI has been working on developing its web browser have been circulating since November 2024. The company also released an AI agent called Operator in January this year, which is capable of independently performing certain actions like booking travel accommodations, making restaurant reservations, and shopping online. The agent, however, was limited to its premium users in the U.S. Another limitation of Operator was that it relied on third-party browsing environments, leaving the ChatGPT-maker dependent on Microsoft’s Bing and other browser integrations.

However, with its browser based on Chromium open-source code, OpenAI can embed Operator directly at the core. This means users might no longer need to navigate standard websites; instead, they could interact through an AI chat interface that summarizes content and fulfills tasks within the browser itself.

Operator isn’t merely a demonstration; it symbolizes OpenAI’s broader ambition to develop autonomous agents that don’t just assist users but act on their behalf. But to give Operator the environment it needs to thrive, OpenAI must control the browsing context. Without it, the AI remains reliant on browser APIs, plugins, or limited sandboxed tools, none of which allow full autonomy or access to real-time data at scale.

Chrome’s success; a motivating factor

A web browser is no longer a passive tool; it is a gateway to the internet’s data and user habits. Chrome’s grip over the browser market has given Google unparalleled access to how people interact with the web: what they search for, which sites they trust, and how they spend their time. This behavioral data has helped train Google’s own AI models, including Gemini. For OpenAI, owning a browser isn’t just about delivering its chatbot; it’s about creating an ecosystem where everything from the interface to the data loop feeds back into improving the AI. The browser becomes not just a product, but a platform.

A new browser is not just about challenging Chrome’s dominance, which is used by more than 3 billion people, representing two-thirds of the global browser market. It is about a greater desire for control over user data, seamless integration with AI services, and independence from Big Tech bottlenecks.

Google profited massively from Chrome by collecting valuable search data that drove its ad business. The company earned nearly 81% of the $257.63 billion in the fiscal year 2021 of its total revenue from advertisements. Chrome has been proven to be so good at driving revenue for Google that the U.S. Department of Justice has demanded its divestiture after a judge ruled that the Google parent holds an unlawful monopoly in online search.

Even then, OpenAI had its eye set on a web browser. During the trial, OpenAI’s Head of Product for ChatGPT, Nick Turley, told a U.S. federal court that OpenAI would be interested in buying the Chrome browser if regulators force Google to divest it. At the time, Turley emphasized that acquiring Chrome would deepen ChatGPT integration and advance OpenAI’s 'AI-first' browser vision.

Google, however, did not offer Chrome for sale and has said it plans to appeal the ruling that it holds a monopoly.

OpenAI, currently reliant on Bing’s data (and reportedly unhappy with its quality), sees its browser as a gateway to insights into search behavior, enabling them to fine-tune SearchGPT and other models.

Having its own browser will allow OpenAI to use user data, enabling it to deploy AI agents that can take actions on users’ behalf. To make this a reality, OpenAI has been collaborating with companies like DoorDash, eBay, Instacart, Priceline, StubHub, and Uber to ensure that Operator, when deployed on browsers, respects these businesses’ terms of service agreements.

OpenAI is not alone in the hunt for browsers

OpenAI isn’t the only company chasing the future of AI-powered browsing. Startups like The Browser Company (makers of Arc) shifted their entire focus from a traditional browser to developing a browser that bakes in AI at the heart. Nvidia-backed Perplexity AI, which recently launched its browser called Comet, is trying to blend search, browsing, and AI assistance into a single, fluid experience.

Meanwhile, Brave has added AI summarization and privacy-focused assistants, and Microsoft has integrated Copilot across Edge. The race isn’t just for eyeballs; it’s for defining how information is consumed. If OpenAI doesn’t create its native browsing layer, it risks being just another plugin on someone else’s platform.

What can users expect from OpenAI’s browser?

For users, an AI-first browser could mean an entirely new experience. Instead of dozens of open tabs, AI could group, summarize, and act on your behalf, reading terms of service, comparing reviews, even filling forms.

A student could ask for sources for a research paper and receive links pre-annotated. A working parent could say, “Find me the cheapest flight to Chicago this weekend and book it,” and see it done, without visiting five airline sites. By collapsing browsing, searching, and action into one flow, OpenAI’s browser could redefine convenience and productivity.

However, to make this possibility a reality, OpenAI needs not just to develop and release a reliable alternative to Google’s Chrome, but also address questions around openness, privacy, and user experience, all of which would drive user adoption and retention.

Until then, all eyes are on OpenAI to see if it can truly shift users away from the habits Chrome has baked in over the last 15 years.

TL;DR

• AI at the core: OpenAI is reading a Chromium-based browser that bakes its Operator agent into every page, turning search, reading, and checkout into one chat-style flow.

• Data & control play: Owning the browser lets OpenAI stop leaning on Bing, harvest first-party usage data, and close the feedback loop that made Chrome so lucrative for Google.

• Rising competition: Arc, Perplexity’s Comet, Brave + AI, and Edge + Copilot all chase the same “AI-first” browsing future—OpenAI must out-innovate, not just imitate.

• Big hurdles: To lure users from Chrome’s 3 B-strong base, OpenAI must nail privacy, stability, and real-world task automation—otherwise it’s just another plugin in someone else’s tabs.

3 Things Worth Trying

• Arc Search (iOS) — AI “browse for me” mode returns a clean, citation-rich summary page instead of 10 blue links.

• Sidekick AI Browser — Chrome-compatible, but bundles a built-in GPT sidebar that auto-summarizes docs and YouTube videos.

• SigmaOS “Wonder” — Turns any site into a swipeable, app-like card—great for focus sessions and task-based browsing.

Headlines You Actually Need

• Google’s AI-marketing suite lands in India — The launch follows New Delhi’s repeal of the “Google tax,” opening a huge ad market to Gemini-powered campaign tools.

• Linda Yaccarino quits as X CEO — Less than a year in, the ad-industry veteran steps aside, handing Elon Musk full control as the platform struggles for revenue.

• IKEA’s new speaker-lamp dumps Sonos — The updated SYMFONISK trades costly Sonos guts for built-in Spotify Connect and budget-friendly Bluetooth under €90.

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