OpenAI is about to introduce an AI-powered browser that has the potential of directly confronting the success of Google Chrome. People familiar with the development said that the new OpenAI browser will be launched in the next few weeks and has a strong focus on changing the way users are able to access the web through the application of artificial intelligence.
This is yet another masterstroke by OpenAI to access valuable information on its users, which has always been the lifeblood of Google's advertising platform. It has more than 3 billion users, and so it is not only a browser; it is an essential data channel in the huge ad business that Google runs and which contributes close to 75 percent of Alphabet's revenue.
That is what the OpenAI browser could erode, should it be implemented by the 400 million ChatGPT users who surf the Internet weekly. Instead of a typical solution of providing one more browsing tool, OpenAI will also present its versions of peddling ChatGPT-like interactions directly into the browser functionality. This implies that it was possible for users to pose questions, accomplish tasks, and navigate through web-based content without necessarily clicking through numerous pages, a situation that transformed the way individuals exploit the internet in a major way.
The browser is not only a technical initiative; it is a piece of the overall goal of OpenAI, which is to integrate AI into all spheres of personal and professional life. The sources indicate that the OpenAI browser will have the ability to contain the so-called agent features, AI tools capable of acting, such as booking tickets, auto-filling forms, or handling tasks on a site. The automated browser can become a hub to everyday digital life to this extent.
To create this experience, OpenAI decided to use the browser based on Chromium, which is the open-source foundation that runs Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Opera. This way, OpenAI both provides wide compatibility and makes the browser adapt to the pending integration into its AI. Indeed, OpenAI has already recruited two ex-Google executives, the key participants in the early development of Chrome, which is an indicator of how seriously the company is approaching this step.
By turning the browser into a tool that can collect the mass amounts of data, OpenAI will be able to narrow and customize AI interactions and compete more closely with the ad and search markets. This dream is in line with other more recent actions by the company, such as its \$6.5 billion buyout of Jony Ive and an AI hardware company, an indication that the company is moving away from software to a complete product and service ecosystem.
Nonetheless, the competition of OpenAI is very high. Chrome has the leading share in the global market of more than 2/3, and Apple Safari, which is at a far 16%, is the one actual alternative. Other entrants such as Brave, The Browser Company, and Comet by Perplexity are joining the fray, with all of them harboring their respective concepts of smart web browsing.
Yet, so long as the browsing experience that OpenAI provides in its browser may be widely considered seamless and well-enhanced with AI capabilities, as well as powerful automation, it may change what the audience expected whenever they use a web browser. It is also a regulatory nightmare for Google, which has also been facing a legal nudge on its monopolistic tendencies in Chrome-related areas.
By developing its own browser rather than simply developing a plugin, OpenAI maintains complete control in terms of its design and functionality as well as data on users. And in the modern technology-based economy, data has made everything.
