Two days after OpenAI’s Atlas, Microsoft reboots nearly identical AI browser

Microsoft on Thursday released a new set of features for its AI assistant, including an ambitious project that will incorporate artificial intelligence directly into one of its most core products. Copilot mode in Microsoft’s Edge browser isn’t just an extension, it’s Microsoft’s take on the long-touted AI browser category. It is an intelligent and flexible AI assistant that tracks you while you browse the web.

Mustafa Suleiman, CEO of Microsoft AI, also described the new product in those terms during the announcement. “Edge’s CoPilot mode is evolving into an AI browser that is a dynamic and intelligent companion,” Suleyman said in an announcement post. “With your permission, Copilot can also look at your open tabs and make decisions, summarize and compare information, and perform actions like booking a hotel or filling out a form.”

Edge’s CoPilot mode was officially released in July, introducing basic features like a new tab search bar and natural voice navigation. However, since this mode was opt-in, it did not receive as much attention as expected. At Thursday’s event, Microsoft got even more ambitious, introducing “actions” that let Copilot fill out forms or book hotels, and “journeys” that let Copilot track connections between open tabs. This wasn’t a huge change in the product, but it was enough to put the idea of ​​an AI browser center stage at the event.

This announcement comes just two days after a similar announcement by OpenAI, which showed off its new Atlas browser. Of course, Copilot’s release has been planned for weeks, and the new Copilot mode has likely been in development for months. Neither company invented the idea of ​​an AI-assisted web browser. However, the visual similarities between the two products cannot be ignored.

These are two very similar pictures. Copilot for Edge’s background is slightly darker, text appears instead of a logo, and the close/minimize button follows Windows conventions instead of MacOS conventions. Additionally, Copilot puts its “ride-along” feature in a new tab rather than split screen…but that’s it. It’s almost the same product.

Some of the similarities are functional. People like clean browsers, but there are limited ways to integrate chatbot windows into the “new tab” screen. To the user, some facial similarity may not make much of a difference, as the main difference comes from the underlying model.

In any case, the browsers look pretty much the same. But given the high stakes of the AI ​​race and the tense situation between the two companies, getting these two browsers in the same week seems significant.

Correction: A previous version of this post incorrectly referred to the October 23rd event as the first release of Copilot for Edge. In fact, this feature was released in July. TechCrunch regrets this mistake.