Review: OpenAI's Atlas Browser – More Cynicism Than Innovation?

OpenAI recently launched Atlas, a web browser featuring built-in ChatGPT and an AI agent designed to browse, answer questions, and automate tasks. However, a review by Mat Honan suggests the browser falls short of expectations, offering minimal benefit to users outside of OpenAI. The review focused on Atlas's agentic capabilities, which aim to automate tasks such as online shopping. In one test, the agent compiled a shopping cart with previously purchased and unwanted items, taking approximately 10 minutes to complete. Another test involved generating a Facebook status update, which resulted in an unappealing and overly detailed post based on the reviewer's browsing history. Beyond the agent, the integrated ChatGPT offered little advantage over the standard web version. In one instance, it provided irrelevant information by referencing a previous webpage instead of the current one. Honan questions the purpose of Atlas, suggesting it primarily serves OpenAI's data collection efforts rather than providing a genuinely useful browsing experience. The original review appeared in The Debrief, Mat Honan’s weekly subscriber-only newsletter.