Google’s Chrome accounts for around two thirds of web browsing globally, well ahead of rivals like Apple’s Safari and Microsoft’s Edge. Its next challenge appears to be coming from the biggest beasts of the AI world. Reuters reported that OpenAI is preparing to launch an ‘AI-powered web browser’ in the coming weeks which is “designed to keep some user interactions within a ChatGPT-like native chat interface instead of clicking through to websites”. That’s delightful news for website owners, of course.
Meanwhile, Perplexity – another of the big AI firms – has just unveiled an AI-powered browser called Comet. “A shift from browsing to thinking,” is the pitch here. “Comet transforms entire browsing sessions into single, seamless interactions, collapsing complex workflows into fluid conversations…” For now, it’s only available to subscribers to the company’s Perplexity Max tier, which costs $200 a month.