(OpenAI)

OpenAI releases Chrome competitor browser “ChatGPT Atlas,” sending Google shares down

ChatGPT currently poses little threat to Google’s search business, but an OpenAI browser — and the data that comes with it — could change everything.

Jon Keegan

10/21/25 11:47AM

OpenAI took aim at Google today with its own AI-powered web browser called “ChatGPT Atlas.” The new browser, which is currently only available for Macs, aims to merge ChatGPT with a modern web browser.

An OpenAI team member on the livestream called it “a new kind of browser for the next era of the web.” The newly-unveiled browser could help OpenAI further insert itself into users’ interactions with their computers, and prompt users to more extensively incorporate OpenAI tools in their daily lives.

The initial screen the user sees in the new browser looks a lot like ChatGPT, with a text box in the center. But instead of just entering in the name of a website or search query, users can ask the browser questions. This may take you directly to a website, but it also might search through your tabs and browser history, or pull information together from around the web to deliver a response. Atlas is built on Chromium, the open source version of Google’s Chrome browser.

Google’s AI overviews aim to do a similar thing in response to a search query, but Atlas can deliver answers without pages of search results. Google’s Chrome browser has been key to its domination of online advertising, generating $54.2 billion last quarter alone. Even a small slice of that market would help OpenAI offset the massive losses it is incurring as it ramps up its ambitious infrastructure plans.

One of the key features in Atlas is a persistent “Ask ChatGPT” button which grants the chatbot access to the contents of the webpage being viewed, letting the user ask questions about what is on the page. However, when I tried to ask Atlas questions about the front page of the New York Times, a message popped up that said “ChatGPT is unable to access the contents of this website,” likely due to the ongoing lawsuit between OpenAI and the newspaper.

That’s a reminder that the contents of your journey around the web can be used to train future models. Atlas does give users the ability to opt out, but the setting is turned on by default (but not for Business or Enterprise subscribers). Users can also open an “incognito mode” tab that will not remember what you search for, or what sites you visit.

Atlas has a deep memory — not only does it remember your searches and what sites you visit — your ChatGPT history is available to Atlas as well to help customize responses (this can also be disabled).

Listed as a “preview” feature, Atlas also has a built-in “Agent mode” that will control the web browser to complete tasks on its own. In the livestream, a demo showed Atlas visiting a supermarket website, and adding items to an order based on a recipe. The task took about 2 minutes to fill the cart.

Shares of Google took a nosedive before the announcement on Tuesday, dropping as much as 4%. After the livestream announcing Atlas, shares recovered slightly, but the stock was still down about 1.7%.

Matt Phillips3/13/26

Oil settles Friday at highest level since start of war

US oil prices moved higher in afternoon trading Friday, sapping strength from the stock market as they posted their highest close since the start of the Iran war.

After another day where the Strait of Hormuz was essentially closed to global tanker traffic, US futures for West Texas Intermediate settled up 3.1% at $98.71 a barrel for an 8.6% weekly gain, per Dow Jones data.

American officials have discussed using the US Navy to escort tankers through the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, but have said plans for such convoys are not ready yet. However, it is unclear if military convoys would bring an end to the war-related dislocations in the oil market.

“It could help,” Tom Liles, senior vice president of upstream research at energy consulting firm Rystad, told Sherwood News in a recent interview. “It could also go in a lot of different directions if a Navy ship is hit or if a tanker is hit.”

Oil Posts Weekly Gains As Middle East Conflict Drags On

Tasha Matsumoto

3/13/26

Stocks post third straight week of losses as Brent crude surges above $100

Stocks wiped out early gains to close lower amid the ongoing war in Iran.

Matt Phillips3/13/26

Memory stocks rebound off last weeks losses

Memory stocks Micron, Sandisk, Western Digital, and Seagate Technology Holdings rose again Friday, putting these crucial providers of chips for AI inference work on track for big weekly gains after last week’s steep losses following the outbreak of war with Iran.

There’s no obvious trigger for the move higher for these shares this week, other than a bit of a recovery in the AI trade more broadly — AI beneficiaries like IT cable and connections maker Amphenol and custom chip and networking company Marvell Technology clawed back some gains this week — perhaps due Oracle’s earnings earlier, and some mean reversion to boot.

Micron is due to report earnings after the close of trading on Wednesday, with the company catching a couple price target hikes this week, including one from Wedbush on Friday.

Sandisk is something of a different story, as its enormous gains over the last 12 months — roughly 1,200% — have made it a momentum play beloved by the retail crowd.

It was up about 20% this week at around 11 a.m. ET. And its nearly 170% gain this year keeps the stock on top of the S&P 500, in terms of price performance.

Luke Kawa

3/13/26

The S&P 500’s internals are awful... while it’s still less than 5% from its record closing high

The breadth of negative momentum within the index’s constituents is even worse than at the tariff-induced market bottom in April 2025.