In the last week of October, OpenAI launched its long-rumoured AI browser, which seeks to position its AI chatbot at the center of the internet. The ChatGPT Atlas browser is entering an area that is preoccupied by Perplexity’s Comet and Google Gemini in Chrome. Hence, OpenAI is probably that placing ChatGPT in the front and center to attract users. However, the overall experience seems less satisfactory compared to the counterparts. Let’s discover where it falls short.
All About ChatGPT Atlas Browser
The Chromium-based ChatGPT Atlas is presently available to macOS, though versions for other platforms are expected to come soon with a minimalist interface. In the left corner of the window, you can see a collapsible tab with your ChatGPT history. In the middle, there is a URL bar that also allows you to search directly using ChatGPT. On the right, you can see the ‘Ask ChatGPT’ button, where you can click to start a conversation mainly about the website you are currently browsing. For ChatGPT Plus, Business, and Pro members, there is also an exclusive ‘agentic mode’ that can finish tasks like adding products to an online cart.
ChatGPT Atlas Homescreen
The homescreen of the ChatGPT Atlas browser offers suggestions for getting started. For example, ‘find the best salon near me’. With time, it shows you some recommendations on the basis of what you have searched for in the browser. However, you cannot expect clear information. ChatGPT Atlas browser may show Halloween costume recommendations if you ask ChatGPT for ideas, but it never searches related to restaurants even after carrying on several searches on the browser. Either way, you may end up missing the option to see the everyday news stories and weather that are easily accessible on Perplexity Comet browser or Microsoft Edge homepage. You can also read how ChatGPT is integrating other applications.
What’s the Problem?
After starting with the ChatGPT Atlas browser, you will soon encounter a problem: ChatGPT simply does not feel like a satisfactory portal to the web. When you enter a query, you will generally receive an AI-generated response from ChatGPT and then the things you want to search, with a list of links similar to Google Search. However, the outcomes are not always relevant. For example, if you search for news near me, ChatGPT may deliver an AI-generated response with stories based on the location. However, the search results page will give you links to the local news websites along with the other locations where you do not even live.
Similar to Google, the ChatGPT Atlas browser will show you a map if you find a business or attraction in a particular region, along with a brief description of every attraction, visiting hours, prices, and ratings. However, unlike Google, you cannot click into the reviews or check where they are coming from. This is something which makes OpenAI fall short against Comet, which features a TripAdvisor integration through which you can check more detailed reviews regarding the place, pictures, and AI overviews. Here, is how you can use ChatGPT without registering.
Where Does It Fall Short?
If you search for other topics like the best food in Las Vegas, you can find more relevant outcomes from other browsers. However, the ChatGPT Atlas browser can show you only 10 links per query. Also, you would ot have the option to see results beyond that. When you type in a new query in the same chat, the ChatGPT Atlas browser will come up with results that can allow you to scroll through the page to find the relevant links. The division between the topics is not clear as ChatGPT Atlas browser divides them with a hardly visible gray line and text.
OpenAI will also store the histories in the same place where you ended your conversations. This can help you clutter things up if you visit again from the chatbot’s dedicated application. This limited search experience could be the reason behind the ChatGPT Atlas browser, including links to Google in the top-right corner of every results page. Along with the new web search tab, ChatGPT Atlas browser also comes with the options to search for pictures, videos, and news stories. You can also find an option- ‘browser memories’ in ChatGPT Atlas, which alters chat responses and recommendations to your recent queries.
ChatGPT Atlas browser can also reorganize and close tabs for you with the feature to collab tabs. Apart from this, the big promise of AI browsers has not just to allow you to find things online but to keep things contextualized and navigable. When you enter a webpage with ChatGPT Atlast, you can highlight and right-click text to ask the bot for more information. You can also launch the Ask ChatGPT option located on the upper-right corner of the browser to raise queries regarding what you are reading or to browser related information. It is basically a type of Gemini in Chrome and Perplexity’s AI assistant in Comet. If you want advanced features, try these ChatGPT’s free projects tools.
What is the Agentic Mode?
The agentic mode for subscribers goes beyond this and can conduct tasks on your behalf, like taking appointments or booking trips, or assisting you in completing a purchase. However, it may not be too fast or smooth. To enjoy this, you will have to manually select the ‘agentic mode’ option before requesting a task. Else, the ChatGPT Atlas browser would not perform.
For example, if you ask ChatGPT Atlast to stack up your ecommerce cart with products that you recently browsed, it may take the chatbot around 10 minutes to add only three products. Whereas, the rival Comet will take only two minutes to do the same task, that seems reasonable.
However, ChatGPT Atlas browser successfully creates and send emails directly in Gmail within 30 seconds and can make a Google Calendar event within the same time period. It can search some best restaurants for you and take you to the reservation page within a few minutes. Though, users may still find Atlast a bit of an underwhelming debut for a brand which aims to establish a set of interconnected apps. Thus, AI may be the future but there is still much to improve to pull people away from conventional browsers like Google chrome.
