OpenAI Shuts Down AI Browser Atlas After 292 Days as AI Browsers Retreat, Chrome Holds Two-Thirds Share

On October 21, 2025, OpenAI released Atlas, an AI-native browser, drawing significant market attention. The product was positioned as an AI agent browser with capabilities such as web-operation agents. OpenAI promoted it through measures including giving away ChatGPT credits. On August 9, 2026, OpenAI announced the official shutdown of Atlas, which operated for 292 days from launch to closure. Atlas was available only on macOS, with no Windows or mobile versions. During Atlas's operation, several AI browser products ceased operations or changed direction. In May 2025, The Browser Company's founder announced the discontinuation of the Arc browser, with the team shifting to the AI browser Dia. That same month, the Sidekick team was absorbed by Perplexity, and the product was shut down in August. In September 2025, Atlassian acquired The Browser Company for US$610 million. In March 2026, when a16z released its consumer AI application ranking, it excluded AI browser products entirely, citing the difficulty of measuring them effectively in conventional traffic statistics. Data show that over the past year, the combined market share of all AI browsers was less than 1%, with Comet, the largest by user base, having monthly active users in the tens of millions. Chrome's global market share has remained stable. Figures from different statistics providers vary slightly, but its global share has held at approximately two-thirds, with fluctuations of no more than two percentage points over the past year. To maintain its default search position on Apple devices, Google pays Apple approximately US$20 billion annually. In September 2025, Google integrated Gemini into the Chrome browser, and Microsoft Edge also launched a Copilot mode around the same time. Some AI browser products remain operational. Comet has been made freely available to all users as a customer-acquisition channel for Perplexity. Dia has become an extension of Atlassian's office suite. Opera Neon costs US$19.9 per month. Swedish company Strawberry completed a US$6 million seed round in 2026. In its shutdown announcement, OpenAI said that AI browsers should exist as a feature rather than a standalone destination. Atlas's browser capabilities have been integrated into the ChatGPT desktop client and a Chrome extension.