AI Browsers: The Future of Digital Navigation?

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The artificial intelligence world has been abuzz with conversations around AI browsers and agentic browsers for a while now. However, since Nvidia-backed Perplexity AI introduced its AI-powered browser, Comet, on Wednesday to challenge Google Chrome’s dominance, the topic has taken centre stage. But will AI-powered browsers truly dethrone Chrome?

Sanchit Vir Gogia, Chief Analyst and CEO at Greyhound Research, believes: “AI-first browsers are not yet dethroning Chrome, but they are dismantling the rules of engagement.”

According to the Greyhound CIO Pulse 2025 report, 42 per cent of enterprise leaders say they are actively exploring or experimenting with AI-native browsers for use cases such as research, planning, and automation.

“While Chrome maintains its dominant share, these experiments indicate a strategic curiosity toward agent-led, context-aware alternatives that challenge the conventional search-to-click paradigm. This is no longer a browser contest, it’s a shift in how digital intent is initiated and interpreted,” Gogia explained.

As per the same report, 57 per cent of CXOs evaluating AI browsers cite persistent memory and contextual recall as top features of interest. However, only 17 per cent report any concrete plans to implement these browsers at scale in 2025. Most organisations are instead pursuing limited-scope evaluations or proof-of-concepts, often under strict risk and compliance oversight.

There is, however, greater adoption potential in industries that rely heavily on cumulative information synthesis, such as consulting, pharma, and financial services. Yet, concerns around privacy, data control, and policy compatibility remain major barriers to deeper adoption.

Gogia adds, “AI firms are not just releasing browsers, they’re repositioning for ecosystem control. Fifty-one per cent of enterprise technology leaders believe OpenAI and Perplexity are moving into browser development to secure first-party data access, lock in user feedback loops, and control the digital front door. This is not about UX, it’s about foundational leverage across the AI stack.”

“The winners,” he emphasises, “will be those who can blend intelligence with explainability and integration without overstepping trust.”

As quoted in Entrepreneur.com, in an article authored by Shivani Tiwari published on July 10, 2025.

Beyond the Media Quote: Our View, In Full

Pressed for time? You can focus solely on the Greyhound Flashpoints that follow. Each one distills the full analysis into a sharp, executive-ready takeaway — combining our official Standpoint, validated through Pulse data from ongoing CXO trackers, and grounded in Fieldnotes from real-world advisory engagements.

Can AI-First Browsers Dislodge Chrome’s Dominance?

Greyhound Flashpoint — AI-first browsers are not yet dethroning Chrome—but they are dismantling the rules of engagement. Per the Greyhound CIO Pulse 2025, 42% of enterprise leaders say they are actively exploring or experimenting with AI-native browsers for research, planning, and automation use cases. While Chrome maintains its dominant share, these experiments indicate a strategic curiosity toward agent-led, context-aware alternatives that challenge the conventional search-to-click paradigm. This is no longer a browser contest—it’s a shift in how digital intent is initiated and interpreted.

Greyhound Standpoint — According to Greyhound Research, AI-first browsers like Perplexity Comet and OpenAI’s forthcoming offering may not displace Chrome immediately, but they are reorienting user expectations around relevance, speed, and task fluidity. Chrome’s grip is rooted in legacy distribution and cross-device familiarity, but its tab-centric model is increasingly at odds with users seeking AI-native assistance. These new browsers offer not just answers, but increasingly agentic behaviours—removing layers of navigation. For enterprises, the attraction lies not in replacing Chrome, but in deploying AI browsers as intent accelerators within specific functions. The disruption may appear slow, but the structural redefinition is already underway.

Greyhound Pulse — Greyhound CIO Pulse 2025 data shows that 42% of enterprise CIOs are currently evaluating or piloting AI-native browsers in limited environments—particularly for research and content-heavy roles across media, life sciences, and professional services. While most usage remains exploratory, there is growing recognition that these tools offer a distinct advantage for context-heavy tasks. Notably, over half of this cohort reports maintaining Chrome as their default browser—underscoring that we are at the phase of dual-stack experimentation, not wholesale transition.

Greyhound Fieldnote — Per a recent Greyhound Fieldnote from a global publishing house headquartered in the UK, the CIO and editorial leadership are actively exploring AI-native browsers like Comet for research acceleration. While intrigued by the potential to streamline newsroom workflows, the team expressed reservations around sourcing transparency, citation accuracy, and hallucination risk—especially in politically sensitive reporting. The digital governance function flagged auditability and content provenance as gating factors for broader rollout. The firm is watching the space closely but is yet to greenlight active usage.

What Will Define Winners in the AI Browser Race?

Greyhound Flashpoint — In the AI browser arms race, performance metrics are shifting—from rendering speed to memory, integration, and trust. Per Greyhound CIO Pulse 2025, 57% of technology leaders say the most compelling attribute in AI-first browsers is contextual memory that spans sessions. These early evaluations reveal that enterprise expectations now centre on adaptive learning, not just interface design. The winners will be those who can blend intelligence with explainability and integration without overstepping trust.

Greyhound Standpoint — According to Greyhound Research, the decisive factor in the AI browser market will not be page speed or privacy optics alone—but how effectively the assistant learns and adapts. Persistent memory, safe personalisation, and cross-app intelligence are emerging as deal-breakers. Perplexity’s local-first model and OpenAI’s cloud-integrated approach offer contrasting views on where that balance lies. Enterprises are currently in the experimentation phase—probing whether these tools can evolve into workflow-anchored agents. The tipping point will come when these browsers can demonstrate cumulative learning and reliability in high-stakes tasks, not just single-query excellence.

Greyhound Pulse — According to the Greyhound CIO Pulse 2025, 57% of CXOs evaluating AI browsers cite persistent memory and contextual recall as top features of interest. However, only 17% report any concrete plans to implement these browsers at scale in 2025. Instead, the majority are undertaking limited-scope evaluations or PoCs, often under watchful risk and compliance oversight. The greatest intent is observed in consulting, pharma, and financial services—industries that rely on cumulative information synthesis. Yet, most continue to cite uncertainty around privacy, data control, and policy compatibility as hurdles to deeper adoption.

Greyhound Fieldnote — Per a recent Greyhound Fieldnote from a Southeast Asia–based pharmaceutical MNC, senior data science leaders are evaluating AI browsers like Comet for their clinical research teams. Their key interest lies in the ability to consolidate and contextualise trial data more efficiently. However, concerns persist around the lack of persistent memory across sessions, inconsistent source reliability, and regulatory compliance—particularly with global data residency laws. The CIO has signalled openness to pilot these tools within a sandboxed environment, contingent on stronger explainability and opt-in memory architecture.

Browsers, Assistants, and Automation—Where Do the Lines Blur?

Greyhound Flashpoint — Enterprise browsers are evolving into assistants that can act—not just react. Per Greyhound CIO Pulse 2025, 63% of technology leaders are exploring AI-first browsers as potential agents that integrate browsing, task execution, and decision support. While few have deployed these at scale, intent to unify search, summarisation, and action into a single interface is high. This convergence challenges long-held assumptions about web navigation, content visibility, and user autonomy.

Greyhound Standpoint — According to Greyhound Research, AI-first browsers are driving the collapse of traditional boundaries between information retrieval, action execution, and digital assistance. Where Chrome and its peers serve as passive utilities, agentic browsers propose a model of continuous, contextual assistance. This has wide-ranging implications: users gain in efficiency, but content publishers lose visibility, and IT governance faces a black-box dilemma. The strategic opportunity lies in automating high-churn tasks—yet doing so transparently, with human-in-the-loop safeguards. Enterprises must treat these tools as assistants to augment decision-making, not as opaque decision-makers themselves.

Greyhound Pulse — Greyhound CIO Pulse 2025 reveals that 63% of respondents are in the early stages of evaluating how AI-first browsers could serve as automation agents—particularly in customer service, legal, and operations functions. These evaluations are largely internal and do not yet involve end-user rollouts. Just 11% have run formal pilots, citing challenges with explainability, auditing, and approval hierarchies. That said, the underlying intent is strong: nearly three-quarters of those exploring AI browsers say they see these tools as inevitable evolution points in browser functionality.

Greyhound Fieldnote — Per a recent Greyhound Fieldnote from a North America–based legal advisory firm, the general counsel and CTO are jointly evaluating AI-first browsers with agentic capabilities for research workflows. While they recognise the efficiency potential of summarisation and citation chaining, they flagged critical concerns around legal accountability, especially if junior staff begin over-relying on AI summaries in case preparation. The firm is currently mapping out validation checkpoints and AI usage policy frameworks before considering any integration into core legal research stacks.

Why Are AI Labs Building Browsers? The Ecosystem Stakes Explained

Greyhound Flashpoint — AI firms are not just releasing browsers—they’re repositioning for ecosystem control. Per Greyhound CIO Pulse 2025, 51% of enterprise technology leaders believe OpenAI and Perplexity are moving into browser development to secure first-party data access, lock-in user feedback loops, and control the digital front door. This is not about UX—it’s about foundational leverage across the AI stack.

Greyhound Standpoint — According to Greyhound Research, the push by AI labs to build proprietary browsers is less about interface design and more about vertically integrating the intelligence supply chain. By owning the browsing layer, these firms gain access to behavioural signals, interaction data, and task-level patterns that would otherwise remain locked in third-party ecosystems. This strategic realignment allows them to personalise experiences, optimise inference cost, and train agents in real-world conditions. For enterprise decision-makers, the key concern is vendor lock-in—particularly when assistants evolve into workflow intermediaries. The browser-as-agent model offers profound upside but introduces new dependencies that must be actively managed.

Greyhound Pulse — According to Greyhound CIO Pulse 2025, 51% of CXOs interpret AI browser development as a high-leverage play to gain upstream user control. However, just 14% of these organisations are currently integrating AI browsers into formal architecture plans. The dominant posture remains one of strategic tracking, with high curiosity but cautious execution. For many, the browser is emerging as a battleground for AI control—not yet a confirmed asset in operational design.

Greyhound Fieldnote — Per a recent Greyhound Fieldnote from a Middle East–based retail and logistics conglomerate, the enterprise architecture team has expressed strong interest in transitioning to AI-augmented browsing environments. Their primary motivation is to gain first-party control over user telemetry and reduce dependency on legacy browser stack constraints that inhibit agent deployment. However, there is internal debate around potential lock-in risks, fragmented user experiences across departments, and operational readiness to manage an in-house browser environment. Leadership has asked for a deeper feasibility assessment before committing to any pilot.

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