The article discusses the recent backlash against GPT-5, highlighting user attachment to older models like GPT-4, the emotional connections people develop with AI, and the rapid response of OpenAI to criticisms. It also covers Perplexity's new AI browser, Comet, and its ambitious bid to acquire Google Chrome, reflecting the intense competition and evolving landscape of AI and internet tools.
OpenAI and Perplexity are planning to challenge Google's dominance in the browser market by releasing their own AI-powered browsers, with OpenAI's browser expected soon and Perplexity's Comet browser already announced, featuring AI assistance and targeting high-paying subscribers.
Perplexity has launched Comet, an AI-powered web browser featuring its AI search engine and Comet Assistant, aiming to challenge Google Search and compete in the browser market. The browser offers AI-generated search summaries and an AI agent that can automate tasks across apps and websites, but faces challenges with complex requests and user privacy concerns. Despite competition from other AI browsers and tech giants, Comet's innovative features could give Perplexity an edge in the evolving browser landscape.
Microsoft is once again displaying popup desktop ads to Google Chrome users on Windows 10 and 11, promoting Bing and its GPT-4 Bing Chat platform. Some users initially mistook the pixelated ads for malware due to their quality. Microsoft confirmed that the ads are legitimate and are a one-time notification, offering users the choice to set Bing as their default search engine on Chrome. Clicking "Yes" installs the "Microsoft Bing Search for Chrome" extension, which changes the default search to Bing and displays a message asking users not to change it back. This move is part of the ongoing competition between Microsoft and Google in the browser and search engine wars.
Microsoft issued a Windows update that broke a Chrome feature allowing users to change their default browser with a single click, annoying Chrome users with popups. The issue was worse for enterprise users, as the Windows default settings page would pop up every time they opened Chrome. Google had to disable the setting, which had made Chrome more convenient. Microsoft seems to have gone out of its way to break a Chrome feature that made life easier for users, as part of a pattern of behavior in the browser wars. This is not the first anti-competitive move from Microsoft in recent years, according to Mozilla's chief product officer.
Microsoft plans to simplify changing default app settings in Windows 11 by offering a consistent "deep link URI" for apps to send users to the right place in the Settings app for changing app defaults. The company will also add a pop-up notification for newly installed apps that want to pin themselves to the Taskbar. These changes will be added to Windows in the coming months. The new features serve as a gentle rebuke to developers who handle things differently, such as Chrome and Firefox, which pin themselves to the Taskbar upon installation automatically without asking.
