It would be fair to say that it's not been the best of months for Google's Search business. With Department of Justice threats to break away its browser, Chrome, from the rest of the company, as well as users still being force-fed AI overviews that aren't always entirely accurate, many are wishing there was an alternative.
And, as it so happens, OpenAI could be looking to provide just that. The company already has SearchGPT, which is off to a great start, but it could be looking to develop its own browser, too, according to a report from The Information (paywall).
OpenAI could take on Google again
According to The Information, the company behind ChatGPT has been discussing deals to create its own web browser with developers, but the browser is unlikely to arrive any time soon.
OpenAI has reportedly hired key Chrome developers from Google, including Ben Goodger, one of the Chrome team's founders. The company has a large audience for its browser and already has desktop apps for Windows and Mac.
"ChatGPT is growing quickly and currently dominates the nascent market for AI chatbots," The Information reports. "Making a web browser could help OpenAI have more control over a primary gateway through which people use the web, as well as further boost ChatGPT, which has more than 300 million weekly users just two years after its launch."
OpenAI has seemingly aligned itself with Google's major rivals already. The company provides its services for Apple Intelligence, and Microsoft's Bing powers much of SearchGPT.
Rumors point to Operator, the AI agent framework expected to be released by OpenAI next year as one reason to launch a browser. This agent would be able to perform tasks on the web on behalf of the user and a custom browser would simplify this process for OpenAI.
