Beyond Search: Why Google, OpenAI, Perplexity and other tech giants are fighting for control of future

For nearly two decades, the browser market appeared settled. Google Chrome has become the dominant gateway to the internet, holding more than 60% global market share, leaving rivals such as Microsoft’s Edge, Firefox, Safari, and Opera fighting for relevance. But with the rise of generative and agentic artificial intelligence (AI), the basic idea of what a browser is—and what it should do—is being redefined. A wave of AI-first browsers and assistants is now challenging the long-standing architecture of the web, pushing tech giants into a new strategic conflict — the battle to control the interface through which people access information, complete tasks, and interact with AI.

This competition intensified sharply this year. OpenAI launched ChatGPT Atlas, its dedicated AI browser.