Openai’s Altman sees 2026 as a turning point for AI in business
In his keynote speech at the Snowflake Summit held in San Francisco on June 2, Openai CEO Sam Altman predicted by next year that AI systems will help solve complex problems and uncover new knowledge.
Openai is approaching the release of an AI-powered web browser that challenges Google Chrome, which controls Alphabet’s Google.o market.
The browser is expected to be released in the coming weeks, the three say, and aims to fundamentally change the way consumers browse the web using artificial intelligence. Openai provides more direct access to user data, the basis of Google’s success.
If adopted by ChatGPT’s 400 million active users, Openai’s browser could put pressure on key components of rival Google’s ad money spigot. Chrome is an important pillar of Alphabet’s advertising business, accounting for nearly three-quarters of revenue as Chrome provides Alphabet Target Ad with more effective and profitable user information and gives Google a way to route search traffic to its own engine by default.
Instead of clicking on a website, Openai’s browser is designed to preserve user interaction within a native chat interface like ChatGPT.
Browsers are part of Openai’s broad strategy for weaving consumers’ personal and professional lives, one source said.
Openai declined to comment.
The source refused to be identified as he was not permitted to speak publicly about the matter.
Leading by entrepreneur Sam Altman, Openai overturned the tech industry in late 2022 with the launch of AI Chatbot ChatGPT. After initial success, Openai faces tough competition from rivals such as Google and Startup Anthropic, looking for new areas of growth.
In May, Openai said it would enter the hardware domain and pay $6.5 billion to buy IO, an AI device startup from Jony Ive, former design chief of Apple’s AAPL.O.
Using a web browser allows OpenAI to integrate AI agent products, such as operators, directly into the browsing experience, allowing the browser to perform tasks on behalf of the user, people said.
Accessing browser users’ web activity makes it an ideal platform for AI “agents” that can take actions directly within the website they use, such as booking reservations and filling out forms.
Tough competition
According to Web Analytics Firm StatceCounter, Openai has over 3 billion people’s Google Chrome, which is used by over 3 billion people, and now has more than two-thirds of the global browser market. Apple’s AAPL.O No. 2 Safari lags behind with a 16% share. Last month, Openai said ChatGpt had 3 million paid business users.
Other AI startups such as Browser Company and Brave have announced AI-powered browsers that can perform actions on behalf of users this year. Perplexity, a funded startup known for search engines, also launched AI browser Comet on Wednesday.
Chrome’s role in providing user information to target Alphabet’s targeted ads more effectively and profitably has been a very successful decision to sell the Department of Justice after a US judge ruled that Google’s parents held an illegal monopoly in online searches.
Openai’s browser is built on Chromium, Google’s own open source browser code, two sources say. Chromium is the source code for Google Chrome and is a number of competitive browsers, including Microsoft’s MSFT.O Edge and Opera Opra.O.
Last year, Openai hired two longtime vice-presidents of Google who were part of the original team that developed Google Chrome. The information first reported their employment, and Openai reported that he had previously considered building a browser.
An Openai executive testified in April that the company would be interested in purchasing Chrome if antitrust enforcers succeeded in enforcing sales.
Google does not sell Chrome. The company says it plans to appeal the ruling that it holds its monopoly.
Openai has decided to build its own browser rather than simply “plugin” on top of other company browsers.
Report by San Francisco’s Kenrick Kai and Anna Ton by Crystal Who in New York. Edited by Stephen Coates and Nick Zieminski
