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OpenAI Reportedly Prepping Browser to Take on Google Chrome

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OpenAI is reportedly readying an AI-powered web browser to challenge Google Chrome.

This browser is set to debut in the coming weeks, Reuters reported Wednesday (July 9), citing sources familiar with the matter, with the goal of employing artificial intelligence (AI) to change how people browse the web. 

The report argues that this browser would allow OpenAI better access to one of the keys to Google success: user data. And if the 500 million weekly users of OpenAI’s ChatGPT were to adopt this browser, this could eat into Google’s ad revenue, 75% of which comes from Chrome, the report added.

Sources told Reuters the OpenAI’s browser is designed to keep some user interactions inside a ChatGPT-like native chat interface rather than clicking through to websites, and that the browser is tied to a larger plan by OpenAI to meld its services with users’ work and home lives.

A spokesperson for OpenAI declined to comment when reached by PYMNTS.

As Reuters notes, OpenAI has been facing heavy competition from Google and rival AI firm Anthropic, and is seeking new paths to growth. The company in May said it would enter the device space as it paid $6.5 billion for io, the startup run by ex-Apple design chief Jony Ive.

The news came the same day that another AI company — Perplexity — unveiled its new web browser, dubbed Comet, which allows users to answer questions, conduct tasks and carry out research from a single interface.

PYMNTS examined the state of AI-powered search — and the possible future of Google — last week in an interview with Adam Behrens, CEO of retail AI tech startup New Generation

He said that in five years, Google will no longer be “a list of links,” but “a service where you get answers, then actions, which changes how people shop and what they expect.”

“The traditional ad model starts to break down because there’s less screen space and fewer choices; you either show up ready to be picked, or you’re invisible,” Behrens added.

“For brands, it means they can’t just live behind a website anymore. They need to show up across the entire AI ecosystem so they’re shoppable, searchable and ready for whatever agent your customer is using.”

The stakes are growing higher, that report added. The average AI search visitor is 4.4 times more valuable than the average visit from the standard search based on conversion rates, per data from Semrush.



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RRC getting real with artificial intelligence – Winnipeg Free Press

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Red River College Polytechnic is offering crash courses in generative artificial intelligence to help classroom teachers get more comfortable with the technology.

Foundations of Generative AI in Education, a microcredential that takes 15 hours to complete, gives participants guidance to explore AI tools and encourage ethical and effective use of them in schools.

Tyler Steiner was tasked with creating the program in 2023, shortly after the release of ChatGPT — a chatbot that generates human-like replies to prompts within seconds — and numerous copycat programs that have come online since.



MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS

Lauren Phillips, a RRC Polytech associate dean, said it’s important students know when they can use AI.

“There’s no putting that genie back in the bottle,” said Steiner, a curriculum developer at the post-secondary institute in Winnipeg.

While noting teachers can “lock and block” via pen-and-paper tests and essays, the reality is students are using GenAI outside school and authentic experiential learning should reflect the real world, he said.

Steiner’s advice?

Introduce it with the caveat students should withhold personal information from prompts to protect their privacy, analyze answers for bias and “hallucinations” (false or misleading information) and be wary of over-reliance on technology.

RRC Polytech piloted its first GenAI microcredential little more than a year ago. A total of 109 completion badges have been issued to date.

The majority of early participants in the training program are faculty members at RRC Polytech. The Winnipeg School Division has also covered the tab for about 20 teachers who’ve expressed interest in upskilling.

“There was a lot of fear when GenAI first launched, but we also saw that it had a ton of power and possibility in education,” said Lauren Phillips, associate dean of RRC Polytech’s school of education, arts and sciences.

Phillips called a microcredential “the perfect tool” to familiarize teachers with GenAI in short order, as it is already rapidly changing the kindergarten to Grade 12 and post-secondary education sectors.

Manitoba teachers have told the Free Press they are using chatbots to plan lessons and brainstorm report card comments, among other tasks.

Students are using them to help with everything from breaking down a complex math equation to creating schedules to manage their time. Others have been caught cutting corners.

Submitted assignments should always disclose when an author has used ChatGPT, Copilot or another tool “as a partner,” Phillips said.

She and Steiner said in separate interviews the key to success is providing students with clear instructions about when they can and cannot use this type of technology.

Business administration instructor Nora Sobel plans to spend much of the summer refreshing course content to incorporate their tips; Sobel recently completed all three GenAI microcredentials available on her campus.

Two new ones — Application of Generative AI in Education and Integration of Generative AI in Education — were added to the roster this spring.

Sobel said it is “overwhelming” to navigate this transformative technology, but it’s important to do so because employers will expect graduates to have the know-how to use them properly.

It’s often obvious when a student has used GenAI because their answers are abstract and generic, she said, adding her goal is to release rubrics in 2025-26 with explicit direction surrounding the active rather than passive use of these tools.