OpenAI is shutting down Atlas, but its AI browser ambitions are still growing

OpenAI is shutting down Atlas, its AI-powered browser launched in October, but is not abandoning its AI browsing ambitions. Instead, the company is redistributing the agentic browsing features tested in Atlas across ChatGPT's desktop app and a new Google Chrome extension. The decision to sunset Atlas follows a directive from OpenAI's CEO of applications to cut back on "side quests," which also led to the shutdown of its AI video-generation tool Sora. OpenAI is launching a ChatGPT extension for Chrome that gives it access to the context of the page being viewed, allowing users to ask questions, summarize content, or start longer tasks. It is also enhancing the ChatGPT desktop app with a more robust browser that lets users browse websites, log into accounts, and download files without leaving ChatGPT. A separate cloud browser will run on OpenAI's servers for agents to complete tasks on a user's behalf. These updates aim to turn ChatGPT into a continuous workspace spanning Chrome, the desktop app, and an AI agent.