Der neue Browser von OpenAI rettet mich an diesem Singles' Day!

Every year on Singles' Day, it feels like a boomerang hitting my head for me, who graduated from high school years ago: I just can't understand the offers at all.

But this year is different.

I asked ChatGPT Atlas (the AI browser newly released by OpenAI last week): "Should I buy an iPhone 17 or an iPhone 17 Pro? How can I get it at the best price?"

Then Atlas automatically retrieved the product pages I visited, analyzed the historical prices, current promotions, and user reviews, and summarized the advantages and disadvantages of each platform as well as the respective discount offers for me...

Today's business battles are only suitable for AI | Source: ChatGPT Atlas

All this happened in a single interface (so what were all those previous efforts for?!). It was so smooth that I almost forgot how "concrete" "surfing the Internet" actually is - opening a search engine, entering search terms, clicking through the search results page by page, and then finding that the content doesn't match.

Often I have the feeling, "Where exactly have I landed?" | Author's screenshot

If you want to quickly compare the prices of the new iPhone during work but it's not convenient to use your phone, you open twenty tabs and switch between different e - commerce platforms to compare prices, read reviews, and calculate discounts...

The information is chaotic, the websites are separate, and switching is nerve - wracking - but we're used to it.

"Smart Tricks"

Browsers are getting smarter.

Since 2008, Chrome has initiated the golden age of modern browsers with faster loading times, a clean interface, and an open plug - in ecosystem.

Chrome's open ecosystem has greatly increased its attractiveness | Author's screenshot

In the following ten years, there was a peak of functional innovations: grouping tabs, reading mode, device - to - device synchronization, plug - in market...

Browsers are getting more and more powerful, but one thing remains the same: They only open the door but don't care whether you find what you're looking for - because they don't understand what you're doing.

Since the emergence of AI, AI plug - ins have almost overnight occupied the browser sidebar. You can call up "ChatGPTs" at any time on the right side of the web page to summarize the web page or translate YouTube videos live.

The "AI plug - in" area was a very competitive "race track". The reason is simple: No one wants to miss the chance to capture the "user entry point".

AI plug - ins in the Chrome Web Store | Author's screenshot

The improvement of the user experience by AI plug - ins mainly lies in reducing the friction when switching between different web pages. But it remains like an "extra system" that can't integrate the entire user scenarios. For example, it can summarize a web page, but it doesn't know what search problem you started from.

In short, this improvement of the user experience is more of a repair. The "core" remains unchanged, and our way of surfing the Internet doesn't change.

Microsoft was the fastest among the companies. Microsoft has integrated Copilot into Edge and thus realized all the functions that were otherwise offered by different plug - ins. Edge has a strong "co - pilot", but the driver remains the same - Edge is not a new species.

Then, what does a new species look like?

The Landscape of AI Browsers

AI browsers turn the main - secondary logic upside down. It's not about integrating AI into a browser, but rather developing a browser around the AI.

The starting point of this revolution begins with Arc.

In 2022, The Browser Company launched the Arc browser and completely left the old Chrome template with the slogan "Redefine Internet surfing". All tabs, bookmarks, notes, and the download manager were moved to the sidebar, so that you can take notes while surfing.

Although it wasn't very "AI - like" at that time, Arc showed users for the first time that a browser is not only for displaying web pages but can also be integrated into the desktop system.

Arc had a special start | Source: Arc

In 2023, Arc experimented with AI and added functions such as web page summarization and cross - tab search. Although it still relied on external models like GPT - 3, it already showed the possibility that a browser can "think on its own".

At the end of 2024, Arc stopped the updates, and the team instead developed a new AI - native browser called Dia. This is regarded as the starting point of the "Year of AI Browsers".

In 2025, the AI browser market really took off: Dia, Comet, Zen, Genspark...

First, Dia, which is derived from Arc, has directly transformed the browser into a "command center of the Internet".

Dia has radically removed the address bar and tabs and doesn't want you to "surf on your own" from the start. You just need to formulate your requirements, and it will search the web pages by itself, extract the important points, and create structured content.

The focus of Dia lies in the cooperation between different web pages: You can open five long videos, some training plans, and three Xiaohongshu posts at the same time and then ask Dia: "I'm 170 cm tall, weigh 120 pounds, like playing football, and want to strengthen my gluteal and leg muscles. Based on these materials, create a 45 - minute strength training plan for me per day."

Let an AI browser watch videos for you | Source: Dia

Genspark is from China and can create "the three Office classics" based on web page information.

Comet is also a very ambitious outsider. I opened several scientific articles, a 1.5 - hour lecture video, and a Google Docs document with Comet and instructed it to "extract the key passages from the articles about 'imitating the human attention mechanism through deep learning', combine them with the content of the professor's seminar, create a 300 - word summary, and finally format it into my Google Docs".

Comet automatically completed the entire process in the background without my intervention, and it didn't disturb me while I was doing other things.

Let Comet create a personalized citywalk route for you | Source: Comet

"This is the only way to create an end - to - end workflow (i.e., that the user can complete a series of continuous tasks in a single environment)", said its CEO Srinivas.

These browsers have different styles, but the underlying logic is similar. They have overcome the limitation of traditional browsers to only access information and have integrated the information on different web pages.

The interaction logic has also changed: Humans and AI work together, and the AI controls the browser to execute commands.

Welcome to the Era of "Command Surfing"

While testing Atlas, I found that it has further improved the problem of human - AI interaction.

Atlas replaces the traditional search engine with a Large Language Model to answer queries and uses agents to automatically execute user commands. In these aspects, Atlas doesn't differ from other AI browsers.

The "memory" is one of the core advantages of Atlas | Source: ChatGPT

Here is an example.

Recently, I encountered a big bug while playing a game, which bothered me for several days. With Dia, I opened many forum posts and YouTube videos, and it analyzed and summarized the cause of the bug and the solution for me. That was already very intelligent.

But with Atlas, it goes even further. It remembers my computer configuration, my display settings, the posts I've read, and even the methods I've already tried. Then it gave me a tailored advice: "This bug might be related to the DLSS mode. You mentioned that you're playing the game in the 'Ultra - High Quality' mode. I recommend trying DLAA or turning off the ray - tracing function and testing the frame rate."

For the same command, Atlas links all the posts I've recently read and automatically searches for more posts. Dia, on the other hand, stays on the current web page. | Source: Author's screenshot

Atlas remembers my previous questions | Source: Atlas

For example, I spent many days creating a travel plan, searching for travel routes, comparing flight tickets, and looking at hotels. When I'd seen enough, I told Atlas: "Sort the hotels I last looked at and recommend some similar ones. Sort them by location and price."

Then Atlas retrieved the conversation history and the web page records, determined the location, price, and star ratings of my target hotels, found more similar hotels for me, and summarized the advantages and disadvantages of the different hotels.

This is the ability to understand the user. The reason is that ChatGPT is the "core" of the browser.

Atlas is a strategic signal from OpenAI. You can direct all your requests to ChatGPT, and the AI will search the Internet for answers, whether you want to do research, write, or work...

"We believe that AI presents a once - in - a - decade opportunity to rethink the browser", said Sam Altman at the release of ChatGPT Atlas.

In the past, browsers were based on web pages. This is related to the original design of the World Wide Web. However, AI is changing the way we obtain and process information, so that we no longer "run around the web pages".

We no longer need to rummage through web pages ourselves to find answers, but simply give commands and let the AI do the work.

The CEO of Comet, Srinivas, once said that he wants to turn the browser into an operating system. This is the goal of all AI browsers. The