I Used Gemini, Comet, and Atlas. Here’s The Good, The Good, and The Good of These Agentic Browsers

Post Summary:

• A new wave of ‘agentic browsers’ from Google, Perplexity, and OpenAI is fundamentally changing how we interact with the internet, moving beyond simple search to active task completion.
• Google’s Gemini in Chrome is deeply integrated into the browser, acting as a productivity partner that summarizes, organizes, and anticipates your next move in your workflow.
• Perplexity’s Comet stands out with its focus on credible, synthesized answers, providing cited sources for its findings and aiming to be a truth-focused research tool.
• OpenAI’s Atlas operates like an autonomous scout, capable of independent research, exploration, and proactively flagging misinformation.
• While these powerful new tools raise valid questions about data privacy and security, their immediate, game-changing benefits suggest they’re not just a trend but the future of browsing.

Welcome to a New Era Browsers That Are Agents, Not Just Windows

For years, our web browsers have been passive windows to the digital world. We tell them where to go, what to find, and they serve up pages. But that’s changing, and fast. We’re stepping into an era where browsers are no longer just tools but active partners—or agents—that can understand our goals and take action on our behalf. The excitement in the tech world is palpable. Nilay Patel, Editor-in-Chief of The Verge, recently described the surge in agentic browsers as “the next logical step after AI-powered assistants, bringing intelligence and collaboration into every tab.” It’s a shift from browsing as a manual task to a collaborative experience, and three major players are leading the charge: Google’s Gemini, Perplexity’s Comet, and OpenAI’s Atlas.

Gemini In Chrome Google’s AI Copilot Changes Workflow

Google’s approach with Gemini feels less like a new feature and more like a complete reimagining of the Chrome experience. Instead of a separate tool, Gemini is woven directly into the fabric of the browser, creating a seamless workflow that feels intuitive and powerful. It’s not just about asking questions; it’s about having a copilot that understands the context of your work. This is more than just an incremental update; understanding the arrival of the agent economy helps put this shift in perspective.

In a May 2025 review, Dieter Bohn, Executive Editor at The Verge, noted, “Gemini inside Chrome isn’t just smart search—it’s a contextual assistant that drafts emails, summarizes docs, and finds what you didn’t even realize you needed.” This gets to the heart of what makes Gemini so compelling. It anticipates your needs. A recent update, confirmed by a Google product manager in an Engadget interview, even allows Gemini to automatically organize research tabs into groups and suggest the next logical steps in your project. It’s the kind of proactive assistance that can genuinely change how you work.

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, echoed this sentiment, sharing in a Wired interview, “We’re designing Gemini to act as your tireless research partner, not just your search engine.” And it feels that way. From summarizing a dozen open tabs into a coherent brief to drafting a follow-up email based on the content of a Google Doc, Gemini is already saving users countless clicks and mental cycles.

Recommended Tech

To get the full, seamless experience of an AI-powered partner, The TechBull recommends checking out the hardware it was built for. The new Google Pixel 9a with Gemini deeply integrates the agent into the operating system, making the AI’s assistance feel even more natural and immediate, whether you’re browsing, taking photos, or organizing your day.

Perplexity’s Comet Search Rebuilt for True Answers, Not Just Results

Where Google aims to be your productivity partner, Perplexity’s Comet is laser-focused on being your research authority. It’s built on the premise that in an age of information overload, what we need aren’t more links, but credible, synthesized answers. Comet’s standout feature is its ability to pull information from multiple sources, reason on them, and present a unified answer with clear citations. For anyone who values accuracy—journalists, students, professionals—this is a massive leap forward.

Cherlynn Low, a Senior Reviewer at Engadget, captured this perfectly in her June 2025 review: “Comet stuns with its research synthesis—it reads, compares, and reasons on real sources, giving you a journalist’s fact-check in seconds.” It’s a powerful claim, but one that holds up in practice. Ask Comet a complex question, and it doesn’t just give you an answer; it shows its work, with footnotes linking directly to the source material. This transparent approach is a core part of its design, helping users understand what works when it comes to validating information online. For those eager to test this new way of searching, you can try Perplexity’s Comet for yourself.

Perplexity co-founder Aravind Srinivas told Wired, “Comet is built to handle ambiguity and synthesize, not just serve up a list of blue links.” This philosophy is evident throughout the browser. As covered in a recent Wired piece on the ethics of agentic search, Perplexity is leaning into transparency as a key differentiator, a move that seems to be resonating with users tired of opaque algorithms. By prioritizing verifiable truth, Comet isn’t just a better search engine; it’s a more trustworthy one.

OpenAI’s Atlas Browsing as Autonomous Exploration

If Gemini is your copilot and Comet is your fact-checker, then OpenAI’s Atlas is your autonomous scout. Launched just this week on macOS, Atlas is designed to take a user’s goal and explore the web independently to achieve it. It moves beyond answering prompts to conducting multi-step research projects on its own. It’s a bold vision for how humans and AI can collaborate, and it has already sparked discussions about why everyone is buzzing about the new AI browser.

As Lauren Goode, Senior Writer at Wired, put it, “Atlas acts like a digital scout, autonomously clicking, reading, and learning—surfacing insights rather than just web pages.” The implications are huge. You could ask Atlas to research the best travel options for a family trip to Japan, and it would not just search for flights and hotels but also read reviews, compare prices, and present a summarized itinerary. According to investigations by Wired, Atlas is also being trained to proactively flag potential misinformation it encounters during its exploration, adding a layer of automated vigilance.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told The Verge, “We wanted Atlas to be your research assistant, detective, and editor—all at once.” While still in its early days, the browser’s ability to perform tasks from start to finish is a glimpse into a future where our browsers do more of the heavy lifting, freeing us up for more creative and strategic thinking.

Is There a Downside Security and Trust in Autonomous Browsers

With all this newfound power comes a fresh set of questions. When a browser can read, reason, and act on your behalf, how is your data being handled? It’s a concern that hasn’t gone unnoticed. Monica Chin, Reviews Editor at The Verge, warns, “Agentic browsers raise fresh privacy questions, as reading and reasoning demands new models for securing personal and contextual data.”

The industry is still figuring out the best practices for this new paradigm. Issues around the storage of sensitive data, user control over AI actions, and the potential for misuse are at the forefront of the conversation. Reports from Engadget’s privacy desk highlight that companies are implementing safeguards like on-device processing for certain tasks and clear user controls for data history. However, the technology is moving quickly, and it’s crucial for users to stay informed about how they can protect themselves, especially with the rise of sophisticated AI-driven cyberattacks.

What Do Tech Leaders and Users Say Real Experiences

Beyond the official announcements and reviews, what are real people saying? The feedback so far is a mix of excitement and cautious learning. Early adopters are finding real value in offloading tedious research and administrative tasks to their browsers. It seems many are successfully making it part of their daily routine.

Joanna Stern, Senior Tech Columnist at Wired, interviewed early adopters and noted, “Users report dramatic time savings, but also occasional confusion when agents chase too many tangents—or rewrite more than they should.” It’s a reminder that this technology, while powerful, is still learning. The “magic” happens when users learn how to give clear, goal-oriented instructions. Developers and cybersecurity experts, in particular, express a blend of enthusiasm for the new capabilities and a healthy dose of caution, advocating for a measured rollout with strong user controls.

The Good, The Good, and The Good Because These Browsers Already Changed the Game

It’s easy to get caught up in the potential pitfalls of a new technology, but with agentic browsers, the immediate benefits are so clear that they demand attention. Gemini, Comet, and Atlas each bring something unique to the table, yet they all point toward the same future: a web that is more intelligent, collaborative, and useful.

Tom Warren, Senior Editor at The Verge, summed it up best: “Agentic browsers aren’t perfect, but even at version 1.0, their benefits are so obvious the drawbacks suddenly feel manageable.” He’s right. Whether it’s Gemini streamlining your workday, Comet delivering fact-checked answers, or Atlas embarking on a research mission for you, these tools are already providing tangible value. The game hasn’t just changed; the entire stadium is being rebuilt. And for now, it’s all good news.