- AI browsers let an agent operate pages on behalf of the user. There are three types: dedicated AI browsers, agents in an existing browser and agents in a cloud browser.
- OpenAI discontinued ChatGPT Atlas on August 9, 2026, Claude in Chrome has 21 million users according to the Chrome Web Store (as of November 4, 2026), and Dia also runs on Windows.
- Agents in the user's browser are hard to spot in your data. For website owners, what counts is that the page can be operated by all agents.
Which agents is this about?
This is about agents for end users that act on behalf of real people. Developer tools for automation such as Browser Use, Skyvern or Browserbase are not included, and neither are classic crawlers such as GPTBot or ClaudeBot. The guide AI crawlers explains the crawlers. The agents covered here buy, book and fill in forms on behalf of real people.
Still early, but already big
Public figures only exist for Claude in Chrome. In the Chrome Web Store the extension grew from around 40,000 installations in December 2025 to more than 10 million in June 2026. On November 4, 2026 the store shows 21 million users. Anthropic itself does not publish a user count. The other products have no separate count, because they appear as normal Chrome or are built directly into the browser.
Three types
- The agent is the browser itself, usually based on Chromium.
- Examples are Perplexity Comet, Dia and Opera Neon.
- An extension or a built-in feature turns Chrome or Edge into an agent.
- Examples are Claude in Chrome, Gemini in Chrome with auto browse and Copilot Mode in Edge.
- The agent controls a remote browser on the provider's servers, such as ChatGPT Agent.
- Google's counterpart Project Mariner was discontinued on May 4, 2026. Its technology now sits in Gemini Agent and in AI Mode.
The products compared
The table shows the status on October 15, 2026 and what has changed since our comparison of August 5, 2026. The details come from the providers' pages, and we name differing sources alongside them.
| Product | Type | Platform and access | New since August 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Atlas (OpenAI) | Dedicated browser | Was only available for macOS, agent mode from ChatGPT Plus | Discontinued on Aug 9, 2026. Browser and agent now sit in the ChatGPT desktop app, plus a Chrome extension |
| Perplexity Comet | Dedicated browser | Mac, Windows, iOS and Android, free since October 2025 | Unchanged, the iPhone version has been available since March 2026 |
| Dia (The Browser Company, Atlassian) | Dedicated browser | macOS and Windows, free download | New for Windows. The focus is research across tabs and work tools |
| Opera Neon | Dedicated browser | Windows and Mac, subscription according to Opera 19.90 US dollars a month | No new announcement found. According to Opera, Neon is only available by subscription |
| Claude in Chrome (Anthropic) | Extension | Chrome on desktop, paid Claude plans | 21 million users according to the Chrome Web Store (as of Nov 4, 2026). Since Aug 12, 2026 the side panel is a Claude Cowork session. Does not run in other Chromium browsers or on mobile |
| Gemini in Chrome, auto browse (Google) | Built into Chrome | USA, Google AI Pro or Ultra, English | On May 12, 2026 Google announced the launch on Android in the USA for the end of June. The help page still only mentions desktop |
| Copilot Mode in Edge (Microsoft) | Built into Edge | Edge, higher limits for agents with a Microsoft 365 subscription | Edge has a 6% market share (Statcounter, September 2026) |
| ChatGPT Agent (OpenAI) | Cloud browser | In ChatGPT, on OpenAI's servers | Not rechecked |
Chrome builds in AI itself
Chrome is both the stage and a player, on two levels. At the top sits auto browse for multi-step tasks. Below it runs Gemini Nano, a local model that websites can use via the Prompt API. According to Google, no data leaves the device in the process. The Prompt API runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS, so far not on Android and iOS.
Gemini Nano is well suited to summarizing or classifying. For a purchase on behalf of the user, however, the model is too small. What matters is the direction. The browser with a 66% global market share (Statcounter, September 2026) is building AI into its standard features.
Can you detect AI browsers?
- Same Chrome user agent as a person
- Same IP address as the logged-in user
- Runs in the user's logged-in session
- Invisible to standard analytics
- Cloud agents come from data center IPs
- Some cloud agents send their own user agent
- Web Bot Auth, now an IETF draft
- WebMCP calls on your own page
Until better signals become widespread, you are left with behavior analysis in your own log files. The guide WebMCP explains how to measure WebMCP calls.
What does this mean for your website?
- Do not bet on a single product. The list changed considerably in two months.
- Make your most important journeys operable for all agents, with semantic HTML, labels and stable layouts. The details are in the guide Agentic Engine Optimization, and the step-by-step instructions in the guide Optimize your website for AI browsers.
- Test with several agents, such as Comet and Claude in Chrome. They behave differently.
- For shops, the protocols for agent purchases in the guide Agentic commerce are worth a look.
Common mistakes
- The team optimizes only for one browser, which is discontinued shortly afterwards.
- Bot rules block data center IPs across the board and thereby also hit cloud agents of real customers.
- Agent traffic is looked for in analytics, where it hardly shows up.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI browser?
An AI browser is a browser with a built-in agent that operates pages on behalf of the user, meaning it searches, clicks, fills in forms and shops. Examples are Perplexity Comet and Dia.
Does ChatGPT Atlas still exist?
No. OpenAI discontinued Atlas on August 9, 2026. Browser and agent have moved into the ChatGPT desktop app, and there is an extension for Chrome.
Which AI browser is free?
Perplexity Comet has been free since October 2025, and Dia can be downloaded for free. Claude in Chrome and auto browse in Gemini in Chrome require paid plans. Opera Neon is only available by subscription.
Is Gemini auto browse available in Germany?
According to Google, not yet. Auto browse requires Google AI Pro or Ultra in the USA and English as the language (as of October 15, 2026).
Can I detect AI browsers in Google Analytics?
Hardly. Agents in the user's browser send the same user agent and come from the same IP as the user. Cloud agents are the easiest to spot, via data center IPs in your log files.
Sources
Retrieved on October 15, 2026. If something is out of date or missing, let us know.
- OpenAI Help, Evolving Atlas into ChatGPT for browser-based agentic work: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001371-evolving-atlas-into-chatgpt-for-browser-based-agentic-work · Discontinued on Aug 9, 2026
- 9to5Mac, OpenAI is discontinuing ChatGPT Atlas, its standalone desktop browser (with statement from OpenAI): https://9to5mac.com/2026/07/09/openai-is-discontinuing-chatgpt-atlas-its-standalone-desktop-browser/ · Announcement, Jul 9, 2026
- Perplexity, Comet: https://www.perplexity.ai/comet · Retrieved Oct 15, 2026
- TechRepublic, Perplexity's Comet AI browser is now free: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-perplexity-comet-ai-browser-free/ · October 2025
- heise, Perplexity's AI browser Comet launches on iOS: https://www.heise.de/en/news/Perplexity-s-AI-browser-Comet-launches-on-iOS-11217715.html · March 2026
- Dia Browser: https://www.diabrowser.com/ · Retrieved Oct 15, 2026
- Business Wire, Atlassian Completes Acquisition of The Browser Company of New York: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251021473486/en/Atlassian-Completes-Acquisition-of-The-Browser-Company-of-New-York · Oct 21, 2025
- Opera, press release on Opera Neon: https://press.opera.com/?p=3818 · 2025
- Chrome Web Store, Claude: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/claude/fcoeoabgfenejglbffodgkkbkcdhcgfn · Version 1.0.100, Oct 9, 2026
- Anthropic, The Claude in Chrome side panel is now Claude Cowork: https://claude.com/blog/cowork-chrome-side-panel · Aug 12, 2026
- Google, Gemini in Chrome on Android: https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/chrome/bringing-chrome-ai-to-android/ · May 12, 2026
- Google Help, auto browse in Gemini in Chrome: https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/16821166 · Retrieved Oct 15, 2026
- Microsoft, Copilot in Edge: https://explore.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/copilot-mode · Retrieved Oct 15, 2026
- Wikipedia, Project Mariner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Mariner · Retrieved Oct 15, 2026
- Chrome for Developers, Prompt API: https://developer.chrome.com/docs/ai/prompt-api · As of Aug 26, 2026
- Statcounter, global browser market share: https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share · September 2026
- IETF, HTTP Message Signatures for Bots (Web Bot Auth): https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-webbotauth-httpsig-protocol · Draft, Sep 2026