The web is broken, increasingly full of AI slop, and surfing it sucks.
At least twice a year I download a new browser, open it, and check if the web looks more appealing through another window. But usually, it doesn’t yield results — or at least it hasn’t until recently.
We are already experiencing a new era of AI-based browsers. They are called Comet, Dia, and Neon, and they all promise to simplify your online life.
The situation on the web seems extremely confusing: more and more unnecessary AI-generated content makes it harder to navigate. Perhaps we should let AI agents handle searches, clicks, and thoughts for us? Or at least simplify the process. This could include summarizing news, filling out forms, or making purchases. ChatGPT Atlas, released by OpenAI on Tuesday, operates as a sort of search engine, replacing the familiar Google Search bar with a ChatGPT prompt. Even Google Chrome offers Gemini as an assistant that accompanies you online and explains different things, like Clippy, but less annoyingly.
Putting aside the irony regarding AI agents that find themselves amidst this clutter, the advertising promises of a new approach to browsers seem attractive. However, as is often the case with AI, the actual capabilities of the software differ from the promises made. I tried the AI features in all of these new browsers, and none of them could do things faster or better than I could using my eyes and fingers.
However, I can see the outlines of a better web through these browsers, which appear more natural and less cluttered with pop-ups. It reminds me of Google Chrome when I first used it nearly 20 years ago.
What is the AI Surfing Experience Like
Using these AI-focused browsers is quite similar — both to each other and to well-known browsers. They also remind me of Chrome, as most are based on the Chromium platform — an open-source project from Google. However, the main difference is the chatbot powered by generative AI added to the sidebar.
You can ask the chatbot questions about what is happening on the page, including calendars and emails. They can compose text for you or gather information, learning your interests in the process. Typically, there are free and paid versions of these browsers. Core features, like summarizing a web page, are available for free. To access AI agent features and more memory, you need to pay $20 a month to upgrade to ChatGPT Atlas or Perplexity, developed by Comet. (Neon from Opera also costs $20 and is currently available by invitation only, while Dia doesn’t have agents yet).
Interestingly, Google has taken a back seat in all these AI-focused browsers. For a long Time, web searches began with Google Search, which would display a list of blue links or, if lucky, the information you were searching for in the form of cards, images, or videos. Of course, AI browser suggestions look similar to Google Search results, but they are better organized, in the form of bullet points or paragraphs, depending on the query. Meanwhile, Google’s results page has long been filled with ads and spam.
Whether you want an AI agent to book your next vacation, it is hard not to admit that it is easier to ask ChatGPT about cheap hotels near the best beaches in Maui — spoiler: there aren’t any — than to search for it on Google. When you do this in an AI browser, such as ChatGPT Atlas, you receive personalized results based on what the bot knows about you from your previous conversations. In other words, you get what you want, faster.
Everything Comes Back to Chrome
Let me remind you of internet history: the original idea behind Google Chrome was to offer a fast and simple web experience. The official blog announcing the first beta test of Chrome in 2008 described the browser as ‘optimized and simple,’ as you could search in Google directly from a large field at the top of the browser window. Three years later, Google also introduced the ability to sign into Chrome so that your personal data would follow you wherever you went. Of course, this data helped Google grow its online advertising business by serving even more personalized ads. However, over time, this led to confusing search results and a less optimal web browsing experience in Chrome.
Google maintains a dominant position in the global search and web browser market, holding about 90% and 70% respectively. But it is hard to find someone who absolutely loves using Google Search today. And I would question those who still enthusiastically use Google Chrome, which established Google as the ‘door’ to the web. I personally switched back to Safari many years ago when Chrome stopped feeling so fast, and Google began facing antitrust lawsuits.
Interestingly, these AI browsers remind me of Chrome in its early days. Back then, Google boasted about creating a browser from scratch, while now AI-focused browsers are becoming a kind of reconstruction of that architecture. Chrome was fast because it re-engineered the workflow of loading web pages and tab support. AI-powered browsers are fast because they rethink how we interact with the browser. You don’t have to type keywords into Google Search — although you can if you want. You simply explain to the chatbot what you need, and it explains what you see online. This entire interaction is simplified.
I admit that chatbots are not for everyone. It took me many hours of experimentation to understand how this new technology works, and now I find new ways every day that tools like ChatGPT can be useful. I also acknowledge that I will likely remain a loyal Safari user who uses Google Search for various purposes.
AI-based browsers don’t work quite as promised at the moment, but they offer the potential for a better web — cleaner and faster. Perhaps companies like OpenAI will suddenly realize that they can make a lot of money by collecting vast amounts of data about their users and using it to sell advertising online. This is probably already happening.