OpenAI Unveils Atlas: An AI-Powered Chromium Fork Enters the Browser Arena

OpenAI has launched Atlas, an AI-powered web browser that integrates ChatGPT as an intelligent assistant. Built on Chromium, Atlas aims to simplify online tasks by allowing users to delegate actions, such as ordering food, through its “agent mode.” The browser leverages user browsing history for contextual understanding, with controls for memory management. Currently available only on Mac, Atlas steps into a competitive browser landscape defined by increasing AI integration.

Despite OpenAI’s stated goal to reinvent the browser experience, initial assessments suggest Atlas largely presents as a Chromium fork with ChatGPT integrated, drawing comparisons to existing solutions like Perplexity Comet. The agentic capabilities, while promising convenience, immediately surface critical privacy and security considerations. Recent research by the Brave team on other agentic browsers, such as Perplexity Comet and Fellow, demonstrated successful indirect prompt injection attacks via embedded malicious instructions (e.g., within images or websites). These findings underscore a systemic challenge for AI-powered browsers, given their inherent access to highly sensitive user data and cookies, prompting concerns about the trade-offs between convenience and digital security.