OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman wants to change how 3 billion people use the internet.

Altman, who is behind the wildly popular chatbot ChatGPT, on Wednesday unveiled Atlas: an AI browser he described as a “once-in-a-decade opportunity” and “the way that we hope people will use the internet in the future”.

The announcement immediately sent shares in Google’s parent company Alphabet tumbling 2 per cent – wiping billions from its valuation – as investors digested the threat to Chrome’s mammoth user base.

OpenAI is taking on Google with its Atlas browser.Credit: Monique Westermann

The promise is genuinely compelling. Atlas features an “Ask ChatGPT” sidebar that follows you across every webpage, eliminating the tedious copy-pasting between tabs. Imagine reading a movie review and instantly summoning an AI to digest it, or spotting a recipe and having ChatGPT build your shopping list. For ChatGPT Plus and Pro subscribers, “agent mode” can autonomously handle web tasks such as booking flights or making restaurant reservations.

“This launch marks a step toward a future where most web use happens through agentic systems,” Altman said, “where you can delegate the routine and stay focused on what matters most.”

For OpenAI’s 800 million weekly ChatGPT users, it’s the logical next step in the company’s ambitions to become the default........

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