OpenAI’s new browser is a broadside shot at Google 

Today, OpenAI is launched Its new Atlas web browser In an amazing livestream. the show CEO Sam Altman himself began, speaking directly to the audience.

“We think AI presents a rare, once-in-a-decade opportunity to rethink what a browser can be,” Altman said. “In the same way that the URL bar and the search box were a great analog to the way people used to use the Internet, what we’re starting to see is the chat experience and the web browser can be a fast analog.”

It was an inspirational note in classic Steve Jobs mode. But more important than Altman’s browser was the detritus he swept aside to make room. It wasn’t just casting current-day browsers as outdated, but part of a whole package of products that were about to be replaced by AI — part of, as Altman puts it, “the way people used to use the Internet.” And soon most of the obsolete services reverted to a single company: Google.

OpenAI’s browser project was an open secret in Silicon Valley At least this summer — and it was clear from the start that it could be a potential threat to Google, the current owner of the world’s most popular browser. But the details of Tuesday’s product and presentation made clear how much the web giant has to lose in the AI ​​age — and how little Google’s success with Gemini seems to have helped.

The immediate threat is simple enough: ChatGPT attracts 800 million users per week, and if those users switch to Atlas, they’re likely moving away from Chrome. Losing these users doesn’t cost Google immediate dollars (it’s a free product, after all) but it limits Google’s ability to target ads to those users or nudge them in Google searches — a particular pain point. Just last monthGoogle was barred by the US Department of Justice from making any search exclusivity deals.

Then, how OpenAI deals With the search itself. AI is already straining the web’s search model, surfacing processed information instead of content against which ads can be served. But in OpenAI’s livestream, Ben Goodger, head of engineering at Atlas (himself a central figure in the development of both Firefox and Chrome), described the new type of chat-based search as a paradigm shift.

“This new model of search is really powerful,” Goodger said. “It’s a versatile experience. You can go back and forth with your search results instead of just being sent to a web page.”

Sure, Google has done a lot to integrate AI into the general search experience — but the company has approached it the same way it does most product listings or reviews: by adding a box to the results page. But OpenAI’s kind of engagement is beyond anything you can get in Chrome, and because of its profoundly different approach, it’s not something that can be easily copied. If OpenAI’s search interface proves popular, it could pose a serious threat to Google’s dominance.

Then there is the advertising question. OpenAI doesn’t serve ads at the moment, but it’s been careful Don’t cancel it. The company has also been A lot of adtech jobs are being listed latelyAn ad fueled speculation that the pivot might be on the way. With Atlas, ChatGPT can now collect context directly from the user’s browser window — providing a wealth of valuable data for ad targeting. This is an unprecedented level of direct browser access: you’re literally seeing the words on your screen as you type. And after decades of privacy scaremongering, this isn’t sensitive information that users can give to Google or Meta.

It’s still early days for Atlas, and a lot will depend on the product itself — and whether users really want what OpenAI has to offer here. But the company has taken a surprisingly commercial path here, one focused on growing users and revenue rather than vague ambitions around AGI. Because infrastructure thinks The $300 billion question As for whether OpenAI’s revenue can ever match its massive data center buildout, products like Atlas may be the first place to look for an answer.