Atlas vs Chrome

We make Yab, the third column.facts checked Oct 9 ↓

ChatGPT Atlas was OpenAI’s Chromium browser for the Mac, with ChatGPT beside every page and an agent mode. OpenAI shut it down on August 9, 2026, and points people to the ChatGPT desktop app and its Chrome extension.

Chrome is Google’s browser on every desktop and phone, with Gemini built in. Its auto browse agent works in your own signed-in Chrome on a paid Google AI plan, in the US and India.

The short answer

AtlasShut down

OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates

Pick Chrome

if you live in Google’s apps and want Gemini across Gmail, Calendar and your tabs
if you pay for Google AI Pro and want an agent in your own signed-in browser
if you need the same browser on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android

Or Yabours

if you already pay for Claude or ChatGPT and want it to work in your signed-in tabs
if you want Claude Code, Codex or Cursor to drive a real browser over MCP

At a glance

Atlas and Chrome, with Yab beside them for a Mac.

Atlas vs Chrome
What	ChatGPT Atlas	Google Chrome	Yab
Made by	OpenAI	Google	Serafim Korablev
Status	Shut down August 9, 2026	Updated	Updated
Runs on	Mac	Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android	Mac
Phone app	None; Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026	iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history	Not yet
Price	Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans	Free, with Gemini; its auto browse agent needs Google AI Pro $19.99/month or Ultra	Free; its AI runs on your own Claude or ChatGPT plan
AI	An agent that works in pages, on its own AI service	An agent that works in pages, on its own AI service	An agent that works in pages, on your Claude or ChatGPT plan
Driven by outside agents	No	MCP and a command line	MCP and a command line
Engine	Chromium	Chromium	WebKit
Tabs down the side	A setting	A setting	Yes
Spaces	Not stated	No	Yes
Split View	Not stated	Yes	Yes
Extensions	Chrome Web Store	Chrome Web Store	Chrome Web Store
Ad blocker	Not stated	No	Built in
Open source	No	No	No

Checked October 9, 2026 on each maker’s own pages, linked under Sources. Prices are per month, in US dollars.

Where they differ

What separates them, area by area. Where one plainly has more, it says who; where it comes down to taste, it says so.

AIa matter of taste

Both have an agent that works in your pages. Atlas put ChatGPT beside every page, with optional browser memories and, on paid plans, an agent mode; it no longer works. Gemini chats about your tabs and sums up pages and videos; auto browse clicks, types and fills forms in your own Chrome, on Google AI Pro or Ultra, in the US and India.

Agents like Claude Code and CodexChrome leads

Atlas has no MCP server or command line for outside agents. Chrome can be driven over MCP and a command line, through Google’s Chrome DevTools MCP, which starts its own profile unless you let it attach to your Chrome.

Tabs and windowsChrome leads

Atlas has tabs down the side as a setting and folders in the sidebar. Chrome has tabs down the side as a setting, Split View, folders in the sidebar and tabs that sleep.

PriceChrome leads

Atlas: Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans. Chrome: Free, with Gemini; its auto browse agent needs Google AI Pro $19.99/month or Ultra.

Where it runsChrome leads

Atlas runs on Mac. Chrome runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. On a Mac, Atlas needs macOS 14.2 or later and Chrome needs macOS 13 or later. Atlas has no phone app: Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026. On the phone, Chrome: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history.

Engine and extensionsa matter of taste

Both are built on Chromium, as Chrome is, so sites work as they do in Chrome. Both take extensions from the Chrome Web Store.

Privacyeven

Neither has an ad blocker of its own. Atlas summed up pages for browser memories and deleted the originals; training on browsing was off by default. Tabs you share with Gemini go to Google; with Keep Activity on, chats are kept 18 months by default and may be reviewed and used to train models.

UpdatesChrome leads

Atlas: OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates. Chrome is updated as usual.

What their pages don’t lead with

Real limits, from the makers’ own words and our own use.

ChatGPT Atlas

Shut down on August 9, 2026, with no more security updates
Was Mac only, on Apple silicon
Bookmarks, tabs and history had to be exported by hand
Agent mode needed a paid ChatGPT plan

Google Chrome

Auto browse needs Google AI Pro ($19.99 a month) or Ultra, in the US and India only
Gemini needs a signed-in Google account
With Keep Activity on, people may review your Gemini chats and Google may train on them
No ad blocker of its own

Yab, honestly

Mac only: macOS 15.4 or later, no Windows, iPhone or Android
New: first released in September 2026
Its AI needs a Claude or ChatGPT plan; ChatGPT’s free plan may work with low limits
WebKit, as in Safari: a site tested only in Chrome can misbehave
Closed source

What changed lately

August 9, 2026Atlas: Atlas shut down
July 9, 2026Atlas: OpenAI said it will sunset Atlas for the new ChatGPT desktop app
April 7, 2026Chrome: Vertical tabs began rolling out as an option
February 19, 2026Chrome: Split view for two tabs in one window
January 28, 2026Chrome: Auto browse agent launched in preview for Google AI Pro and Ultra in the US
October 21, 2025Atlas: Launched for macOS

Questions

Is ChatGPT Atlas free?

It no longer works. Shut down; it was free, with agent mode on paid ChatGPT plans.

Is Google Chrome free?

Yes, with limits on its AI. Free, with Gemini; its auto browse agent needs Google AI Pro $19.99/month or Ultra.

Which has an AI agent, Atlas or Chrome?

Both. Atlas put ChatGPT beside every page, with optional browser memories and, on paid plans, an agent mode; it no longer works. Gemini chats about your tabs and sums up pages and videos; auto browse clicks, types and fills forms in your own Chrome, on Google AI Pro or Ultra, in the US and India.

Which runs on Windows, Atlas or Chrome?

Chrome does. Atlas runs on Mac.

Do Atlas and Chrome have phone apps?

Chrome does. Atlas has no phone app: Atlas was Mac only and shut down on Aug 9, 2026. On the phone, Chrome: iPhone, iPad and Android; syncs tabs, bookmarks, passwords and history.

Can I move from Chrome to Atlas?

Yes: Atlas’s own help says it brings in from Chrome.

Is ChatGPT Atlas shut down?

OpenAI shut Atlas down on August 9, 2026: it may not open, runs no agent tasks and gets no security updates.

Is there a third option on a Mac?

Yab, Yet Another Browser, is free for the Mac: tabs down the side as in Arc, with spaces, folders and Split View; an agent in your signed-in tabs like Atlas’s, on the Claude or ChatGPT plan you already pay for. Claude Code, Codex and any MCP client can drive it too. It runs on WebKit, the engine Safari uses, and takes Chrome extensions. It is Mac only, and new.

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Sources, read October 9, 2026. Something out of date? Write to hello@serafimlabs.io and we fix it.

Yab, Yet Another Browser.

Free for the Mac. Arc’s sidebar, your own Claude or ChatGPT as the agent, Chrome extensions on WebKit.

it’s freeMove from Chrome Download