"We think that AI represents a rare, once-a-decade opportunity to re-think what a browser can be about," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said on a livestream to launch the browser. Atlas comes with ChatGPT baked in, and while it can navigate the web like traditional browsers, the company says it can do much more. A feature that OpenAI calls "agentic mode" can take action, like an agent who can shop for you, make reservations, or buy plane tickets.
This exploit, dubbed ChatGPT Tainted Memories by browser security vendor LayerX's researchers, who found and disclosed the security hole to OpenAI, involves some level of social engineering in that it does require the user to click on a malicious link. It also poses a risk to ChatGPT users on any browser - not just Atlas, which is OpenAI's new AI-powered web browser that launched last week for macOS.
OpenAI announced Tuesday it is launching a ChatGPT-powered web browser called Atlas that will compete directly with widely-used Google Chrome. The news appeared to ripple into the stock market, as the share price of Google's parent company, Alphabet, sank on the announcement. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called it a "rare, once-a-decade opportunity to rethink what a browser can be about and how to use one."