OpenAI recently released ChatGPT Atlas, a browser built around its AI assistant. The launch shows how AI competition is spreading to a wide range of products and technologies, leading to more choice and innovation for consumers. Like many modern browsers, Atlas is built on Google’s open-source Chromium database, which has lowered barriers to entry and helped spur new browser entrants and competition.

AI Players of All Sizes are Racing to Innovate 

A wide range of companies are racing to innovate in the AI browser space. 

Smaller firms like Perplexity AI rolled out the Comet browser that can serve as a personal assistant to search websites, organize tabs, draft emails, etc. Brave has also built its own AI assistant, Leo, directly into its privacy-focused browser. The Browser Company’s Arc is now using AI to summarize pages, automate queries, and streamline everyday web tasks. 

Established firms are also competing and innovating. Microsoft announced its Copilot Fall Release on Thursday, embedding AI directly into the Edge browser. And Google offers Gemini in its browser, Chrome.

— Tech Crunch highlights the intensity of this competition, noting that “[b]rowsers have quickly become the AI industry’s next battleground. […] there’s a sense that AI chatbots and agents are fundamentally changing how people get work done online.”

A broader look at the industry also shows big tech players are fueling innovation and competition. 

— A July report from McKinsey & Company, Technology Trends Outlook 2025, emphasized the role leading tech companies play in driving healthy competition. The report highlights that competition among tech giants is driving AI innovation, enhancing model capabilities, efficiency, and real-world applications. It also points to the fact that investments in AI by the most innovative tech companies have helped reduce costs and accelerate commercialization across the AI ecosystem.

Together, efforts from companies of different sizes illustrate how fast the AI browser race is accelerating, driving new products, and reshaping how users find and use information online.