Latest news with #BrowserCompany
Hans India
08-08-2025
- Business
- Hans India
The Browser Company Launches $20 Dia Pro Subscription for AI-Powered Browser
The Browser Company, known for creating the Arc browser, has officially rolled out a paid subscription plan for its AI-driven web browser, Dia. The new Dia Pro plan, priced at $20 per month, offers subscribers unlimited access to the browser's built-in AI chat tool, designed to answer questions about the content users have open in their tabs. According to a report from TechCrunch, the subscription is aimed at power users who rely heavily on Dia's conversational AI. Free users will still have access to all the features that launched with the browser, including the ability to interact with its AI chatbot and create custom 'skills.' However, frequent use of the AI chat function could lead to limitations for those sticking with the free version. The company has yet to define specific restrictions for non-paying users. In a recent interview with The New York Times, CEO Josh Miller reassured that 'the browser will remain free for those who use the A.I. tool only a few times a week.' He also suggested that more subscription options could be introduced in the future, ranging from as low as $5 to several hundred dollars per month, depending on usage and feature requirements. The Dia project was first teased by The Browser Company late last year and entered public beta in June. Since its launch, the browser has aimed to differentiate itself with a strong emphasis on AI integration, positioning its chat feature as a central tool for navigating and making sense of online content. This move comes as AI-enhanced browsing is becoming a major battleground in the tech industry. Over the past year, both Google and Microsoft have woven artificial intelligence more deeply into their browsers, Chrome and Edge, respectively. Meanwhile, AI search company Perplexity has released early access to its own AI-powered browser, Comet. Industry speculation also points toward OpenAI preparing to enter the space with its own browser, potentially adding more competition to an already crowded field. For The Browser Company, the Dia Pro subscription is not just about monetization—it's also about building a sustainable model for maintaining and expanding its AI capabilities. The introduction of paid tiers could help the company manage the operational costs of running AI services while continuing to innovate in a rapidly changing market. While AI integration in browsers is still in its early stages, industry observers note that it could fundamentally change the way people interact with the web. By offering a blend of free and paid options, The Browser Company is signaling its intent to cater to both casual users and professionals who need deeper, more frequent AI assistance. As competition heats up, the launch of Dia Pro underscores a larger industry trend: browsers are no longer just about loading pages—they're evolving into intelligent assistants designed to help users navigate the web more efficiently.
NZ Herald
14-07-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Watch out, Google: OpenAI's browser and its Kiwi creator are coming for Chrome
Operator, which is only available for those on a US$200 ($334) per month ChatGPT Pro account, handles 'repetitive tasks such as filling out forms, ordering groceries'. OpenAI has not commented. But we do know that Kiwi Ben Goodger is at or near the centre of its plans. Comet is here. A web browser built for today's — Perplexity (@perplexity_ai) July 9, 2025 After creating several core features for Netscape (kids, ask your parents), he was the lead developer for the Firefox browser in the 2000s, from his new home base of San Francisco. After moving to Google, where he would become a vice-president, Goodger co-founded the team who created the Chrome web browser that would knock Microsoft's Internet Explorer off its perch. Google Chrome's Kiwi creator, Ben Goodger, has posted about joining OpenAI, but – riffing on the Apple TV series Severance – will only say his work for the ChatGPT maker is "mysterious and important'. Images / Ben Goodger, Open AI A few months ago, Goodger jumped ship to ChatGPT maker OpenAI, where he is listed simply as a 'member of technical staff' – a job description so intensely nondescript that it screams secret. Goodger posted to social media: 'I'm thrilled to be working at the frontier of technology, helping to develop products that benefit everyone!' How exactly? It's still under wraps. Goodger wouldn't comment. On X, formerly Twitter, he posted a screengrab from Apple TV series Severance with the caption 'The work is mysterious and important'. Is it a Chrome-killer? We'll see over the next few weeks. Two AI browsers have just hit the market. They can 'see' what's on your screen, in various browser tabs, by taking screenshots then interacting with content. The Browser Company's AI-powered web browser, Dia, being used to summarise a 20-minute YouTube video in which several products were compared. Image / New York Times One is from AI start-up Perplexity, which features its own search engine and AI assistant. With a US$200 per month subscription required, reviews have been thin on the ground. ZDNet found Comet Assistant is context-aware, able to reference open tabs for research, summarise content inline – without you having to switch browser tabs or to a chatbot app – and answer questions about web pages without copy-pasting. 'This is especially useful for tasks such as comparing products across sites or analysing information on the fly ... [but] Like all LLMs [large language models], Perplexity still frequently gets facts wrong. Always, always double-check its responses,' ZDNet said. And the New York Times recently reviewed a second newcomer, Dia – from a start-up called the Browser Company. While AI bots like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude require opening a separate tab or app and pasting in content, Dia's web browser integrates its chatbot – so you can ask questions about a website's content without leaving your current browser tab. Dia can pull tricks like summarising a 20-minute video, so you don't have to watch it. The New York Times used it to shortcut a clip that compared various products. The new browser performed well. But there's no unique AI. Instead, Dia works with several LLMs. Dia is currently free, but Apple-only (a Windows version is coming) and there's a waitlist. The firm says it will ultimately charge for a range of versions costing between US$5 and 'hundreds of dollars per month'. Why all the monthly subscription charges from the start-ups (and the top-tier versions of LLMs from OpenAI, Microsoft, Google and other Big Techs)? Searches via Google Chrome are cheap to run and bring in hundreds of billions of revenue as punters click on search ad links (Google's highly-profitable search ad business had US$237 billion in revenue last year). AI queries are a lot more power-intensive, which makes them much more expensive to run, with self-contained answers. King of the artificial intelligence hill OpenAI lost money on a reported US$10b revenue last year. Someone's got to pay the bills. There are other possible twists. Google is facing an antitrust case brought by the US Department of Justice. During an initial hearing in May, both OpenAI and Perplexity said they were open to buying Chrome, if that formed part of a settlement or court-mandated outcome. And Apple, which is already adding AI smarts to its Safari web browser and is unencumbered by the need for search ad revenue, has in turn been reportedly sniffing around Perplexity. Beam me down Beam Mobility e-scooters have been spotted this month. Is the beleaguered rideshare operator making a comeback? Last year, Beam was kicked out of Auckland and several other Australasian cities after breaching licence terms. In Auckland, it put hundreds more scooters on the city's streets than its licence allowed, according to the council. The council referred Beam's conduct to the police. The police told the Herald it was a civil matter and sent it back in the council's court. An Auckland Council spokeswoman told Tech Insider today: 'The council was offered a settlement, which we declined.' The amount Beam offered was not disclosed. The cash settlement offer was made in January. On July 2, Beam said it has reached a preliminary agreement to merge with a second Singapore-owned e-scooter rental operator, Neuron – and it was a Neuron warehouse where Beam e-scooters were recently spotted. A merger can be a way back on to a city's streets. After being exiled over glitches and its inadequate response, Lime returned to Auckland after it was merged with Jump (both players had a common major investor, Uber; Lime subsequently won a licence in its own right). But while Neuron has at times operated in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin, it does not currently hold a licence in any New Zealand city. The back door is shut. ComCom boss takes to Uber on LinkedIn Commerce Commission John Small has taken to LinkedIn to recommend people 'switch' to Uber rivals Bolt or Didi to 'be kind to your driver', whom he says will get a bigger clip of the ticket. Uber is fighting, in the Supreme Court, to overturn a 2022 Court of Appeal ruling that classified four drivers as employees. Bolt recently launched in NZ against Uber and Didi. In his post, Small says Uber has a higher 'tax' (taking a bigger cut of the fare) but also - perhaps ironically - boosts one of the pro-Uber talking points by reiterating a point made earlier by the Herald that the tech giant's contractor-only arrangement provides new market entrants with a readymade pool of drivers. And here's one from me: Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald's business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.
Time of India
14-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Is AI going to be the future of web browsing?
By Brian X Chen When was the last time you thought about your web browser? If you don't remember, no one will blame you. Web browsers have remained fundamentally unchanged for decades: You open an app, such as Chrome, Safari or Firefox, and type a website into the address bar, and off you go. A web browser is important because so much of what we do on computers takes place inside one. But things are perhaps about to change a bit, as a new kind of browser is appearing on the horizon. The ones powered by generative artificial intelligence or GenAI, the tech driving popular chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini. Dia from New York-based startup the Browser Company illuminates how a web browser can do much more than load websites -- in seconds, Dia can provide a written recap of a 20-minute video without you having to watch its entirety. While scanning a breaking news article, the browser generates a list of other relevant articles for a deeper understanding. Like other web browsers, Dia is an app you open to load webpages. What's unique is the way the browser seamlessly integrates an AI chatbot to help - without leaving the webpage. Hitting a shortcut (command+E) in Dia opens a small window that runs parallel to the webpage. Here, you can type questions related to the content you are reading or the video you are watching, and a chatbot will respond. In contrast, chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude require opening a separate tab or app and pasting in content for the chatbot to evaluate and answer questions. This week, Perplexity, a startup that makes a search engine, announced an AI web browser called Comet, and some news outlets reported that OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, also plans to release a browser this year. OpenAI declined to comment. Tech behemoths like Google and Apple have added lightweight AI features into their existing browsers, Chrome and Safari, including tools for proofreading text and summarising articles. The Browser Company said it had teamed up with multiple companies to use their AI models for Dia. Basically, the user doesn't need to know or think about which chatbot to use. That, in a way, makes generative AI more accessible to the mainstream. The privacy question Privacy experts have long warned not to share any sensitive information, like a document containing trade secrets, with an AI chatbot since a rogue element could gain access to the data. When browsing something you wouldn't want others to know about, like a health condition, it's better to refrain from using the AI. This exchange - potentially giving up some privacy to get help from AI - may be the new social contract going forward. Will you pay for it? Dia is free, but AI models have generally been very expensive for companies to operate. Consumers who rely on Dia's AI browser will eventually have to pay, say its makers. The browser will remain free for those who use the AI tool only a few times a week. So whether an AI browser will be your next web browser will depend largely on how much you want to use, and pay, for these services. So far, only 3% of those who use AI every day are paid users, according to a survey by Menlo Ventures, a venture capital firm.
Time of India
14-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Is AI going to be the future of web browsing?
When was the last time you thought about your web browser? If you don't remember, no one will blame you. Web browsers have remained fundamentally unchanged for decades: You open an app, such as Chrome, Safari or Firefox, and type a website into the address bar, and off you go. A web browser is important because so much of what we do on computers takes place inside one. But things are perhaps about to change a bit, as a new kind of browser is appearing on the horizon. The ones powered by generative artificial intelligence or GenAI, the tech driving popular chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini. Dia from New York-based startup the Browser Company illuminates how a web browser can do much more than load websites -- in seconds, Dia can provide a written recap of a 20-minute video without you having to watch its entirety. While scanning a breaking news article, the browser generates a list of other relevant articles for a deeper understanding. Like other web browsers, Dia is an app you open to load webpages. What's unique is the way the browser seamlessly integrates an AI chatbot to help - without leaving the webpage. Hitting a shortcut (command+E) in Dia opens a small window that runs parallel to the webpage. Here, you can type questions related to the content you are reading or the video you are watching, and a chatbot will respond. In contrast, chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude require opening a separate tab or app and pasting in content for the chatbot to evaluate and answer questions. This week, Perplexity, a startup that makes a search engine, announced an AI web browser called Comet, and some news outlets reported that OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, also plans to release a browser this year. OpenAI declined to comment. Tech behemoths like Google and Apple have added lightweight AI features into their existing browsers, Chrome and Safari, including tools for proofreading text and summarising articles. The Browser Company said it had teamed up with multiple companies to use their AI models for Dia. Basically, the user doesn't need to know or think about which chatbot to use. That, in a way, makes generative AI more accessible to the mainstream. The privacy question Privacy experts have long warned not to share any sensitive information, like a document containing trade secrets, with an AI chatbot since a rogue element could gain access to the data. When browsing something you wouldn't want others to know about, like a health condition, it's better to refrain from using the AI. This exchange - potentially giving up some privacy to get help from AI - may be the new social contract going forward. Will you pay for it? Dia is free, but AI models have generally been very expensive for companies to operate. Consumers who rely on Dia's AI browser will eventually have to pay, say its makers. The browser will remain free for those who use the AI tool only a few times a week. So whether an AI browser will be your next web browser will depend largely on how much you want to use, and pay, for these services. So far, only 3% of those who use AI every day are paid users, according to a survey by Menlo Ventures, a venture capital firm.
Time of India
13-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
AI Web Browsing: Is AI going to be the future of web browsing?
When was the last time you thought about your web browser? If you don't remember, no one will blame you. Web browsers have remained fundamentally unchanged for decades: You open an app, such as Chrome, Safari or Firefox, and type a website into the address bar, and off you go. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now A web browser is important because so much of what we do on computers takes place inside one. But things are perhaps about to change a bit, as a new kind of browser is appearing on the horizon. The ones powered by generative artificial intelligence or GenAI, the tech driving popular chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini. Dia from New York-based startup the Browser Company illuminates how a web browser can do much more than load websites -- in seconds, Dia can provide a written recap of a 20-minute video without you having to watch its entirety. While scanning a breaking news article, the browser generates a list of other relevant articles for a deeper understanding. Like other web browsers, Dia is an app you open to load webpages. What's unique is the way the browser seamlessly integrates an AI chatbot to help - without leaving the webpage. Hitting a shortcut (command+E) in Dia opens a small window that runs parallel to the webpage. Here, you can type questions related to the content you are reading or the video you are watching, and a chatbot will respond. In contrast, chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude require opening a separate tab or app and pasting in content for the chatbot to evaluate and answer questions. This week, Perplexity, a startup that makes a search engine, announced an AI web browser called Comet, and some news outlets reported that OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, also plans to release a browser this year. OpenAI declined to comment. Tech behemoths like Google and Apple have added lightweight AI features into their existing browsers, Chrome and Safari, including tools for proofreading text and summarising articles. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The Browser Company said it had teamed up with multiple companies to use their AI models for Dia. Basically, the user doesn't need to know or think about which chatbot to use. That, in a way, makes generative AI more accessible to the mainstream. The privacy question Privacy experts have long warned not to share any sensitive information, like a document containing trade secrets, with an AI chatbot since a rogue element could gain access to the data. When browsing something you wouldn't want others to know about, like a health condition, it's better to refrain from using the AI. This exchange - potentially giving up some privacy to get help from AI - may be the new social contract going forward. Will you pay for it? Dia is free, but AI models have generally been very expensive for companies to operate. Consumers who rely on Dia's AI browser will eventually have to pay, say its makers. The browser will remain free for those who use the AI tool only a few times a week. So whether an AI browser will be your next web browser will depend largely on how much you want to use, and pay, for these services. So far, only 3% of those who use AI every day are paid users, according to a survey by Menlo Ventures, a venture capital firm.
