I tried ChatGPT’s Atlas browser to rival Google

A few minutes after I started using ChatGPT Atlas, OpenAI’s new web browser, I encountered a pretty big hurdle.

This is unlike Google Chrome, which is used by around 60% of people. Everything is built around a chatbot that you have to talk to in order to navigate the internet.

“Message limit reached,” one note said. “There are no models that support the tools used,” another said.

And then: “You have reached the free plan limit for GPT-5.”

OpenAI Says it will make using the internet easier and more efficient. We are one step closer to a “real super assistant”.

But assistants, super or not, don’t come for free, and the company needs to start making a lot more money from its 800 million users.

OpenAI says Atlas offers us the opportunity to “rethink what it means to use the web.”

It initially looks a bit like Chrome or Apple’s Safari, with the big difference being the sidebar chatbot.

One train booking website offered to “highlight deals” or compare prices with other destinations.

I asked him to book me a train but was told that this was only available for paying ChatGPT customers.

Then I tried something simpler: I asked it to take me to an article I read the other day, but I couldn’t remember exactly which website it was on.

These are early days, but there is potential for big changes in the way we use the internet.

What is clear is that this will be a premium product that will only work at full capacity if you pay a subscription fee.

Given that we’ve become so accustomed to free browsing, this would require many people to change their habits quite dramatically.

OpenAI’s founding mission was to achieve artificial general intelligence; This roughly means an artificial intelligence that can match human intelligence.

So how does a browser help with this task?

Actually it is not. However, it can generate some income.

The firm has convinced venture capitalists and investors to back it with billions of dollars, and at some point that investment should start paying off.

More precisely, he needs to earn money.

But raising money through advertising, the traditional way online, can be a risk.

“OpenAI may be tempted to display ads to recoup costs and make profits, but it also needs to deliver a good user experience to stand out in a competitive market,” said Stephanie Liu, a senior analyst at Forrester.

OpenAI hopes its users find it good enough to be willing to pay, but only 5% of ChatGPT users pay for the subscription. Finance Times.

The other thing Atlas can do is give the company access to large amounts of user data.

These types of AI tools are ultimately about scale; You think the more data you feed them, the better they will get.

The web is designed for people to use; So if Atlas can watch us (e.g. how we book train tickets) it can learn how to better manage such processes.

“It is not yet clear how OpenAI will use user data in Atlas, but for users who prefer anonymity and privacy, the browser could pose a huge risk,” Ms. Liu said.

Then we move on to the competition.

Google Chrome is so dominant that authorities around the world are taking action raise eyebrows and words like “monopoly” are thrown around.

Entering this market will not be easy.

Google’s Gemini AI is now part of its search engine, while Microsoft has added Copilot to its Edge browser.

In the early days of ChatGPT some called it “Google killer“ – a game-changer that will make online searching as we know it redundant.

This has not happened yet. But Erik Goins, founder of app developer Flywheel Studios, thinks it might be possible.

He said that Google built its business on “being an intermediary between users and websites,” while ChatGPT “completely eliminates the middleman.”

“You no longer search for ‘hotels in Miami’ and click on the Google results,” he said.

“You just ask ChatGPT and it connects you directly.”

Time will tell whether enough people will be willing to pay for this little extra convenience, and there’s a long way to go before Google is ousted.