Outlook Business Desk
Google’s shares fell nearly 5% after OpenAI launched its ChatGPT Atlas AI-powered browser on October 21, signalling rising competition. Investors reacted sharply as the potential threat to Google Chrome’s 3 billion users became clear.
Following the announcement of ChatGPT Atlas, Google’s stock dropped from $252.68 to $246.15 within 15 minutes, wiping out roughly $100 billion in market value. However, Alphabet Inc’s shares have since recovered some of these losses, trading at $253.08, up 0.55%, in early trade on October 24.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT has more than 800 million users globally, most on free plans. The company also offers paid subscriptions and is exploring monetisation strategies, signalling a move to increase revenue through digital services and advertising.
Its new, ChatGPT Atlas is built to personalise web experiences and assist with tasks like flight booking or document editing. Users see an “Ask ChatGPT” option on every website, offering a sidebar to interact with and process web content.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called ChatGPT Atlas a “once-in-a-decade opportunity” to rethink web browsing. The browser will launch first on macOS and expand to Windows, iOS and Android, bringing AI tools to multiple platforms globally.
Atlas users can open a ChatGPT sidebar on any website to summarise content, compare products, or analyse data. Paid users in “agent mode” can have ChatGPT carry out tasks autonomously, completing actions from start to finish.
Earlier this week, OpenAI demonstrated ChatGPT Atlas completing a real task. It located an online recipe and automatically added all ingredients to an Instacart cart. The process, handled entirely by the AI agent, took only a few minutes to finish.
ChatGPT Atlas enters direct competition with Google Chrome, which held 71.9 % of the global browser market as of September 2025. The AI-powered browser could gradually attract users seeking a more personalised and automated browsing experience.
Although, Google has also added AI summaries, called AI Mode, in its search results to stay competitive. This chatbot-style feature complements regular search links.