Five different AI browsers have the same problem

"All I wanted was a pair of New Balances. I was done trusting stylish influencers who swore Vans, Converse, and Allbirds were up to the challenge of walking 20,000 steps day in and day out. They are not. Fall is the season of holiday sales, so there's no better time to shop... if you're immune to being overwhelmed by modern day e-commerce."

"Wouldn't it be grand if I could skip all the fake deals and barely disguised ads, and have the internet find the best stuff for me? What if I could tell the internet my wish and have it granted? Tech CEOs have been evangelizing that this is the future. Tell the bot what you want, kick up your feet, and let AI do the rest. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently said on a podcast that one day, AI will be able to "use a computer as well as a human." He's far from the only executive touting that bots and agents might soon be better than we are at just about everything."

"In the past few weeks, it's become clear that browsers are the latest entrant in the AI arms race. We're talking about things like Perplexity's Comet, ChatGPT Atlas, and even Chrome - browsers that natively embed chatbots into the internet experience. The pitch is to reorient how we browse, to move us away from the search engines that have reigned for the past three decades. The central idea is the same as we've heard from all the other agents-all-the-way-down companies: AI will be just as good as you are at surfing the web. Possibly better."

A consumer sought durable walking shoes and found influencer recommendations unreliable and online shopping overwhelming. Holiday sales amplify disguised advertising and choice overload. Tech executives promise AI agents that can fulfill shopping wishes and automate browsing tasks. New browsers now integrate chat-based assistants to change how users interact with the web. Products like Perplexity's Comet, ChatGPT Atlas, and AI features in Chrome embed bots directly into the browsing experience. The prevailing claim is that AI agents can surf the web as competently as humans, potentially improving efficiency and decision-making.

Read at The Verge