Latest news with #web browsers
Digital Trends
2 days ago
- Digital Trends
Web browsers are entering a new era where AI skills take over from extensions
'The browser is bigger than chat. It's a more sticky product, and it's the only way to build agents. It's the only way to build end-to-end 'workflows,' these were the comments of Perplexity CEO, Aravind Srinivas, in a recent interview. The Perplexity co-founder was talking about the future of web browsers, AI agents, and automations in web browsers. Srinivas was bullish on the prospects, partly because his company is already testing a buzzy new browser called Comet. Currently in an invite-only beta phase, the browser comes with an agent that can handle complex and time-consuming tasks on your behalf. Recommended Videos Think of it like an AI tool such as ChatGPT or Gemini, but one that lives exclusively in your browser. The agent-in-browser approach, as Srinivas argues, is more familiar and flexible. You don't have to deal with the usual local permission and cross-app workflow restrictions. Plus, browsers will work just the way we're used to, with products like Chrome or Safari. But the undercurrents are wildly different, and the biggest change could be the sunsetting of browser extensions in favor of AI skills and user-generated agents. Interestingly, the foundation tools were laid over a year ago, but we are only hearing about them with the arrival of AI-first browsers like Dia and Comet. AI skills are the new work champions All the talk of AI agents and skills sounds like a bunch of tech jargon, so let me break it down for you. In the Dia browser, I recently created a skill called 'expand.' How did I do it, even though I didn't write a single line of code? I simply described it in the following words: 'When I use this skill and paste a snippet, do a deep web search, and pull up the entire history in the form of an article in a timely order. Pull information only from reliable news outlets.' I read and write articles for a living, and I often come across snippets and events in articles that I am not familiar with. For such scenarios, all I have to do is select the relevant text (or copy-paste it in the chat sidebar) and use a '/' command to summon the 'expand' skill. As described above, the AI agent in the Dia browser will search the mentions of my target in top news outlets and create a brief report about it in chronological order. This saves me a lot of precious time that would otherwise be spent on wild Google Search attempts. But more importantly, I don't even have to open another tab, and I can ask follow-up questions in the same chat box within the active reading tab. It's quick and convenient. I don't know an extension that can do exactly what this 'expand' skill does for me. It's not possible either. I created it with a specific purpose and intent. And I can create as many as I want, or fine-tune it further to suit my workflow. I've created another one called 'research' that references a work (or phrase) and performs web research by looking exclusively at peer-reviewed science papers. The Dia user community is even saving some money by creating skills that hunt for coupon codes available on products right before checkout. For my Amazon shopping, I've created one that combines the reviews, ratings, and features of products across different Amazon tabs, creates a comparison table, and helps me make the best choice. All of that happens by typing a single word! Another one quickly looks up for grammatical errors and style guide clarity in my emails. There's one that creates a quiz-based reading material for kids I teach at a nearby non-profit institution, based on the learning material I have prepared. Just made a @diabrowser skill that instantly saved me money — Egor (@eg0rev) July 23, 2025 The students love the fun and playful tone in their multiple-choice questions that test their current affairs knowledge. There's even an official Dia gallery where you can find skills created by Dia users, and a crowd-sourced web dashboard where you can find even more. But here's the main reason why I think browser skills are a bigger deal than extensions. Anyone can create them by simply describing what they want. With extensions, you need coding knowledge and basic skills of how the web and its browsing architecture work. Security is another reason that I would put more faith in browser skills than extensions. There is a long history of browser extensions being weaponized but bad actors to seed malware. An average user can't look or make sense of an extension's inner workings, and only realizes the folly when the damage has been done. The situation with AI skills in browsers is as transparent as it gets. How exactly a skill works is described in detail, in natural language, and without any hidden caveats. You just need to read it thoroughly, or just copy-paste it and create your own with extra modifications. That approach is flexible, a lot safer, and gives the whole power in users' hands. Browser agents are here to stay Next, we have browser agents. Opera browser has already implemented one, and it is already offering a more advanced version called Operator. Then you can have tools like ChatGPT Agent, and Perplexity's Comet browser. Think of it as Siri, but for web browsing. Agents are more suited for complex, time-consuming tasks. And they work best when they get access to the services you visit on a daily basis, like your email and Calendar. For example, this is what I did in Perplexity's Comet browser last night: 'Check my inbox and give me an update on all the interview requests with a scientist or company executive that I intended to proceed with. Focus on conversations where I expressed the possibility of virtual interviews, instead of an in-person meeting.' Without opening another tab, the built-in Assistant went through my Gmail inbox, looked up the relevant emails, and then provided me with a list of such interactions in a well-formatted view. For added convenience, it even included one-click Gmail links so that I can directly open that email chain without having to manually dig in. It's great for a lot of other things. For example, during a Twitter AMA, I simply asked it to pick the responses by the speaker and list them as bullet points. That saved me a lot of back-and-forth time opening and closing X conversation chains. For travel planning, shopping, or even consuming videos, the assistant in Comet browser works fine. The only 'ick' is that if you need it to get more personal work done, you will need to provide access to connectors. For example, to handle your Gmail, Calendar, and Drive, you will need to enable access. I did it for my WhatsApp account, as well, and it worked really well in the Comet browser. Not everyone will feel easy doing that, and the caution is totally warranted. For such scenarios, Google and OpenAI offer similar agentic features for Gemini and ChatGPT, respectively. There is no going back Just the way you create skills in Dia by simply typing or narrating your requirements, Gemini and ChatGPT also let you create custom agents for specific tasks. Google calls them Gems, while OpenAI refers to them as GPTs. And yes, you can share them just like skills. Using them is free, but to create them, you'll need a subscription that costs $20 per month. I've created numerous Gems and custom GPTs to speed up my mundane chores. For personal social posting, I've created a Gem that breaks down articles I've written into smaller bits, which are then posted as a chain on X. Likewise, I've created custom agents to handle my emails. One of the Gems simply needs me to type 'yes' or 'no,' and it will accordingly write a polite response while picking up all the context from the email. With connectors coming into the picture, you can link them to as many services as you want. The best part about these gems is that you can effortlessly use them across a desktop browser and mobile apps, as well. Extensions require you to stick with a desktop browser. Some mobile browsers do support extensions, but they are rare. Moreover, they don't offer the same flexibility and peace of mind as custom browser skills or agents created by users. ChatGPT Agent and Google's Project Mariner are a new breed of AI assistants that are tailor-made for web-based tasks, just like the assistant built within Perplexity's Comet browser. Unlike an extension, they can handle multi-step workflows, and you can take over at any stage. Furthermore, you can modify the inner workings of your web browsing automation and tailor the AI skills to your exact specifications, something that's not possible with extensions. Of course, they are not perfect. At the same time, you can take over it and complete the things when it's not able to do it because no AI agent is foolproof, especially when we are at a time when reasoning models are still far from perfection,' admits Perplexity's CEO. But the shift is clearly evident. Browser extensions are not going to vanish overnight, but browsing agents and AI skills created by users are going to take over. It's only a matter of time before the barriers (read: subscription fee) come down!
Android Authority
17-07-2025
- Android Authority
I tested a new browser that makes Chrome feel outdated
Karandeep Singh / Android Authority AI is embedding itself into every nook of our digital lives faster than Elon Musk can type his next obnoxious tweet. First, it was an app that could talk to you in a natural voice. Then it spread to everyday voice assistants. And now, it's coming — strong-armed — for our main work app: web browsers. Google is pushing hard to make Gemini a core part of Chrome. The makers of Arc have already moved on to an AI-first browser. OpenAI is rumored to be working on its own Chrome alternative. But in one corner, Perplexity — the AI search engine that wants to replace Google — has quietly launched its own browser, Comet, with limited availability. I got to use an early version of its Mac app. And I have thoughts. A lot of thoughts. Mostly, though, using Perplexity's Comet feels like I just touched the future — the one we've been dreaming of. Would you switch to a browser that feels more like a co-pilot than a tool? 0 votes Yes, bring it on! NaN % No, not my thing NaN % Back to the future Karandeep Singh / Android Authority I realize the weight of repurposing an iconic movie title, and I do that with utmost sincerity. Comet feels otherworldly. Something… perplexing for real (geddit?). And I'll tell you how. When I first got access to Comet, I assumed it was yet another browser with an AI sidebar (which it does have) that helps you with translations, summaries, and other basic stuff using the current webpage. But Comet baffled me — in the best way — right from the first step. We've all been waiting for the reality where AI does stuff for us. We're partially there — Gemini, for example, integrates across Google services so you can ask it to add calendar entries using email context or generate music playlists based on your mood. But Comet takes things a couple of notches higher. It navigates websites, learns on the go if it fails, reattempts, verifies its actions, and does tasks on your behalf — all unsupervised. The name is Comet. Agent Comet Karandeep Singh / Android Authority Screenshot While watching the setup demo videos, something caught my eye, and I instantly started exploring it further. The video showed Comet managing tabs, adding items to carts, and more. Like the Rabbit R1 (remember that orange, wonderful rectangle?), I assumed it was trained only on specific websites, like the one in the video. My excitement ensured I proved myself wrong pretty quickly. I asked Perplexity — the default search engine (duh!) — to tell me a recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala. It gave me a solid recipe. Then I asked it to add the required ingredients to my Amazon cart — and that's when the magic started. A glow appeared on the webpage and the browser started navigating the site — without me touching anything. It looked up the ingredients and began adding them to the cart. It got stuck in a loop when it couldn't find fresh chicken (Amazon India doesn't sell it at my location), and it kept trying for several minutes. Out of pity (okay, impatience), I stopped its misery and gave it a simpler task: add ingredients for aglio e olio pasta. Voila, everything was in my cart within seconds. Karandeep Singh / Android Authority Screenshot For a more obscure test, I gave it a list of well-rated Indian shows pulled from a random tweet I came across and asked it to add them to my list on JustWatch, my cross-platform watchlist manager. Now, that's a service I wouldn't expect Comet to be trained on — and rightly so. It navigated the site, tried different sections to figure out where my list was, double-checked if it had missed anything, even inspected the site's code to verify its actions. Comet navigated the site, tried different sections to figure out where my list was, double-checked if it had missed anything, even inspected the site's code to verify its actions. I asked it to create a custom list — even I had to look up where to find that option, but Comet figured it out on its own using trial and error. After that I asked it to scan my 1000+ item watchlist and surface family-friendly movies and shows specifically in Hindi and Punjabi — and it did. If it got stuck, it tried another way, like when a movie poster wasn't hyperlinked and the click failed, it tried clicking the associated text. You can see all this reasoning live in the side panel. It can even access your Gmail account (requires account linking), tell you stuff about your inbox, and take actions like replying to emails or scheduling meetings. If you can't already tell, I came out impressed — mostly. It's that slow trainee who can't learn quickly enough Joe Maring / Android Authority I can truly see the potential. Comet can become the assistant you always wanted. It can do mundane things in one tab, like filling your Amazon cart using your browsing history, while you focus on your main task in another. Or you can just curiously observe it — like a kid watching a robot — as it takes several minutes to do something you could've done in five seconds. It works in parallel, without grabbing your attention. But it makes a lot of mistakes. It messes things up. And that's fair too as it's still in beta with limited access. Think of it as a newbie office trainee: slow to learn, needs to be walked through the process, often makes a mess, and needs supervision. You may find yourself repeating instructions or cleaning up after it, wondering why you didn't just do it yourself. It can do mundane things in one tab, like filling your Amazon cart using your browsing history, while you focus on your main task in another. But that's not the point. It's supposed to handle tasks that are too trivial to steal your focus — run them in the background while you work on what matters and let you step in only if it stumbles. And from what I've seen, things look promising on that front. I imagine it as an always-on assistant sitting quietly in the side panel, always listening. I tell it to do something in a new tab or on an existing page while I'm writing — where even glancing away could break the flow — and it gets it done by the time I'm finished. That's the future I want to live in. And that's the future I tasted, even if briefly, with Comet. I soooo want to switch Karandeep Singh / Android Authority When I recently tried out Arc's sister browser Dia, which also leans heavily into AI, I wasn't that tempted to switch. But Comet is different. It's not reinventing the wheel — it's building a new vehicle entirely. I know Gemini is getting deeply baked into Chrome, and it's unlikely Google isn't working on its own agentic overhaul. But right now, Comet looks like the spaceship that might one day fly between planets while the others are still circling the moon. To access it, though, you'll need Perplexity's $200/month plan. If you're wondering — no, it's not worth spending that much every month. That decision is likely to limit early adoption. Perplexity will have to offer it for free or at least bundle it with a cheaper plan if it wants to avoid monetizing user data and still remain accessible. There are still an awful lot of rough edges around AI's use to smooth out, and the voice input system via Assistant (which actually makes the browser stand out) can be sluggish — often taking minutes to analyze a command or a page. To access Comet, though, you'll need Perplexity's $200/month plan. If you're wondering — no, it's not worth spending that much every month. If you somehow manage to get access to Comet, I think you should give it a try, even if you're not in the market for a new browser. It'll give you a glimpse of what your current browser lacks — and what it could become. As for me, I'll try to hold off the urge to switch. But with how playful Comet is, I might give in. I just might.
Forbes
11-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Will Integrating AI Into Web Browsers Replace Search Engines?
(Photo Illustration by May James/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) One of the questions I have been pondering lately is whether AI web browsers with integrated chatbots could replace search engines. To get some perspective on this question, I looked at a recent study by One Little Web that analyzed 24 months of web traffic data (Apr 2023 to Mar 2025) of the top 10 AI chatbots (including ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Perplexity) and the top 10 search engines (like Google, Bing, Yahoo), using SEMrush web traffic data that suggest that is not happening anytime soon. Key insights include: 1. AI chatbot traffic grew by 80.92% YoY but still trails behind search engines by a factor of 34x. 2. Despite ChatGPT's massive growth, its daily visits are 26x lower than Google's. 3. Search engines are bouncing back, fueled by AI integration, with Google and Bing leading the charge. 4. Yahoo saw a 22.5% drop in visits YoY, highlighting a continued decline. 5. Grok, the second-fastest-growing chatbot, has seen an explosive rise, while Perplexity and Claude are growing steadily. However, the bigger question is not whether chatbots replace search engines, but whether chatbots become an integral part of the browser experience. One of the most strategic decisions Google ever made was to launch its browser, Chrome. Having already organized the world's information with its search engine, Google then moved to control the very vehicle people used to access that information. Recently, Perplexity, the ambitious AI search upstart, just unveiled Comet, an AI-powered browser poised to challenge Google's stronghold. Much like Chrome before it, Comet aims to alleviate current user frustrations by embedding agent-like behaviors directly into many of our everyday digital tasks. Consider a simple yet common scenario. When I recently needed to verify a statistic for this article, my traditional workflow involved opening a new tab, typing my query ("ChatBot vs. Search engine market share"), sifting through search results, selecting a promising source, clicking through, and finally locating the data point on the page. Alternatively, if I were to leverage AI, I'd open Gemini or ChatGPT and directly ask this question in a chatbot. With Comet, the process streamlines dramatically. I begin typing my query directly into a new tab, eliminating the need for an intermediary step of navigating to a separate AI application. By integrating access to your search history, activity logs, and the various logged-in applications, Perplexity's browser gains a contextual understanding of your ongoing activities. The overarching vision here is to transform the browser into an intelligent agent, as much as possible. This transformation is a crucial concept that could redefine the role of a browser in the future. Perplexity is now fielding an impressive 780 million queries monthly, and the company's value is currently at a remarkable $14 billion. While OpenAI may possess greater scale, Perplexity's longer tenure in the search domain, coupled with the fact that it doesn't build its own foundational models, could prove to be a distinct advantage in the browser space, where users often prioritize customization. Comet isn't the first AI-powered web browser. In June, The Browser Company, creators of Arc, launched Dia, a browser that converts the omnibox into a chatbot. And this is certainly not the final entrant. Reuters reports that OpenAI is reportedly just weeks away from launching its browser, which will directly compete with Google Chrome. The ChatGPT-maker has been working on a browser that first surfaced in November 2024. The product aims to change how users find information online, potentially utilizing OpenAI's agent, Operator. The Chrome browser—and its contemporaries—are undoubtedly ripe for disruption. Google has so far been relatively slow to integrate Gemini deeply into the Chrome experience. This delay could stem from its intense focus on Gemini's development, concerns about potential antitrust scrutiny, or perhaps a reluctance to risk its incredibly dominant market share. Nevertheless, a substantial opportunity exists for an innovator to integrate AI into the browser seamlessly. Making AI-generated answers the default search experience in a browser will accelerate many of the trends we're already witnessing in content discovery: a dramatic reduction in direct clicks to websites, enhanced engagement from those who do visit, and potentially new ways to develop new ad revenue. An AI browser with integrated AI chatbots could deliver a seamless experience as part of browsing and change the way we use browsers in the very near future. Disclosure: Google and Microsoft subscribe to Creative Strategies research reports along with many other high tech companies around the world.
