Are AI Browsers The Future Or A Security Risk

For most of us, our web browser is a simple tool to get on the internet, whether it’s Edge, Chrome, or Safari. It’s what you use to check email, shop online, or read the news, and it has remained largely unchanged for nearly two decades.

Now, a new generation of AI browsers is trying to change how we interact with the web. Tools like ChatGPT Atlas, Perplexity Comet, and a new Copilot Mode in Microsoft Edge share a seductive pitch: Stop searching and clicking. Instead, let an intelligent assistant learn what you want, find information, and even take action for you—like booking a flight or finding a gift.

But do these AI browsers genuinely work better than what you’re already using, and what are the trade-offs? After all, changing a tool you’ve used comfortably for years is a big ask. While this new technology is intriguing, my early impression is that it’s not compelling enough to convince most people to switch, at least not yet.

The Rise of Agentic Browsing

Until recently, AI in browsers mostly acted like a chatbot in a sidebar, summarizing pages or answering questions. Now, we’re seeing the leap to “agentic” capabilities. Instead of simply analyzing content, the AI browser will actually take actions on your behalf. “It’s acting and it’s doing,” Shivan Sahib, VP of privacy and security at Brave, told me in a recent interview.

The idea is that you can tell your agentic browser to book flights and a hotel in Phoenix next month, or find ingredients for a recipe and add them to your grocery cart. The AI agent would then navigate websites, fill out forms, and click buttons to complete these tasks, acting as a high-powered digital assistant. Theoretically, this would free you from a lot of online drudgery.

Familiar Foundations with an AI Twist

Before diving into their AI powers, it’s worth noting that these browsers feel surprisingly familiar for everyday use, especially if you’re used to Google Chrome. They all have tabs, bookmarks, and settings that look and work in much the same way.

That’s no coincidence. These browsers are based on Chromium, the open-source project from Google that powers Chrome. This provides a reliable foundation that ensures web pages load correctly and supports features like browser extensions. Companies like OpenAI, Perplexity, and Microsoft build on this base, adding their own custom features and, most importantly, sophisticated AI agents.

The biggest difference is often what you see when you open a new tab. Instead of a search bar or favorite sites, these browsers put their AI front and center. ChatGPT Atlas, for example, opens new tabs directly into a ChatGPT interface, encouraging you to ask questions rather than type a web address. So while the basic mechanics feel standard, the real change is how these browsers integrate AI into your workflow.

Putting Agentic AI to the Test

So if that’s the theory, what happens when these AI agents meet the real world? I spent several days using ChatGPT Atlas, Perplexity Comet, and the new Copilot Mode in Microsoft Edge. My goal was to see how they handled common tasks, focusing on usefulness, reliability, and ease of use. I ran three specific tests: booking a restaurant, comparing laptops, and summarizing emails.

Test 1: Booking a Restaurant

First, I tried a straightforward task: “Book a table for two at 7 p.m. this Saturday in Tucson, for a Mexican restaurant.” ChatGPT Atlas provided an engaging visual experience, visibly navigating OpenTable’s website and completing all steps up to final confirmation in about 90 seconds. Perplexity Comet and Edge’s Copilot handled the task through chat. Comet initially made an error before correcting itself, taking nearly 3 minutes. Edge’s Copilot failed on the first attempt and took over 2 minutes on the second. For a simple, single-goal task, the AI isn’t a significant time-saver. It was just as easy to use the OpenTable app directly.

Test 2: Shopping for a Laptop

Next, I tried a task that is often tedious: comparing product specs. I asked each agent: “Open tabs for the latest 14-inch versions of the Samsung GalaxyBook 5 Pro and Apple MacBook Pro, then create a table comparing their prices, battery life, and ports.” Atlas performed well, pulling correct data and creating an accurate table in just over 2 minutes. Perplexity Comet’s performance was inconsistent, expressing a lack of confidence in its sources and rendering the results untrustworthy. Edge’s Copilot was the slowest at 6.5 minutes, requiring explicit permissions that added friction and defeated the purpose of automation. It was far less efficient than manually comparing specs or using a dedicated tool like Consumer Reports’ laptop ratings.

Test 3: Summarizing Emails

The final test probed how the agents handle sensitive information. The prompt was: “Go to my Gmail inbox and summarize my last five emails.” ChatGPT Atlas handled this impressively, visibly opening the inbox, clicking through emails, and presenting an accurate summary table. Perplexity Comet required connecting my Gmail account, then produced summaries almost instantly. Edge’s Copilot asked for one-time permission to access the Gmail tab, providing a reasonable balance between capability and user control. It provided accurate summaries in about a minute.

Rube Goldberg Machines with Major Security Risks

Across my evaluation, a pattern emerged: while the technology performed complex tasks, the experience was often clunky. Booking a reservation or comparing laptops frequently took longer than doing it manually. The process sometimes felt like fiddling with a complicated Rube Goldberg machine for tasks that are not difficult to begin with.

The browsers also required me to grant the AI broad access to my data. The most impressive demonstration—email summarization—involved handing over significant control for sensitive accounts. As our security expert Steve Blair put it: “Is the juice worth the squeeze?” Right now, the answer is “not yet.”

And then there are the bigger issues of privacy and security. For an AI browser to be your assistant, it needs to see and analyze almost everything you do online, from sensitive health information to bank statements. This opens yet another avenue for broad data collection.

The other, arguably bigger, risk is security. Agentic capabilities introduce an entirely new level of vulnerability. We are giving our computers autonomy to take complex actions on our behalf. This means we now have to worry about protecting ourselves from a gullible AI assistant that gets tricked into doing something harmful.

The most discussed example is “indirect prompt injection.” Researchers at Brave demonstrated a test where they asked Perplexity Comet to summarize a Reddit page. One comment on the page contained hidden malicious commands, which led the AI to navigate to another window where the user was logged into Gmail and steal information. A normal browser couldn’t do that because tabs are safely isolated. The AI companies acknowledge these risks, with OpenAI’s CISO calling prompt injection an “unsolved security problem.”

Neat but Not Necessary Why You Can Wait

Setting aside a direct attack, all AI systems can hallucinate or misinterpret requests. Imagine an AI agent booking tickets to the wrong St. Petersburg. The technology may become more reliable, but for now, my advice is to approach these AI browsers with cautious curiosity.

While the new browsers are fascinating, they currently offer little practical utility for most people, while the security questions loom large. CR’s Steve Blair compares them to self-driving cars, suggesting we should roll them out on a slower, more thoughtful path. If you’re curious, think of it like a beta test. Keep them away from your sensitive online life by logging out of email, banking, and social media while using the AI features.

These tools offer a tantalizing preview of what’s to come, but they aren’t foolproof yet. For tasks that truly matter, sticking with your trusted apps and websites remains the safest and simplest choice for now.