OpenAI Lets ChatGPT Take Direct Control of Chrome Tabs

OpenAI announced on October 15 that its ChatGPT Chrome extension can now directly operate open browser tabs, PPC Land reported on October 16. In Chat mode, ChatGPT reads open tabs to gather information; in Work mode, it can send messages, fill out forms, download files, and organize tab groups on its own.

OpenAI described the update as "bringing the power of computer use to anyone who uses Chrome." A redesigned interface was released alongside it, showing the full ChatGPT chat history next to the open page.

Example use cases shared by OpenAI include comparing pricing pages against requirements and filling out a registration form while stopping before final submission. It remains unclear which subscription plans get direct tab control, and whether user confirmation is required before submitting forms is only implied by example prompts rather than stated outright.

OpenAI discontinued its standalone Atlas browser, launched in October last year, on July 9 this year, folding its agent features into ChatGPT's Work mode. According to Human Security, Perplexity's Comet browser accounted for roughly 47% of measured agentic web traffic as of May, versus about 20.3% for Atlas, a balance this update could shift again.

Letting an AI agent control browser tabs directly also raises concerns about prompt injection attacks, where malicious instructions are hidden on a page. In Anthropic's Claude for Chrome research preview last August, 23.6% of 123 test cases succeeded in prompt injection without mitigations, a rate that still stood at 11.2% even with defenses applied.

Brave and LayerX separately disclosed similar vulnerabilities in Perplexity's Comet browser last year, and Perplexity has said the issue remains unresolved across the industry. Google, which added a Gemini 3 side panel and auto-browse feature to Chrome in July, built in a confirmation step before sensitive actions like payments or social media posts.

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If your team uses ChatGPT for work inside Chrome, it's worth deciding in advance what tasks you're comfortable letting it handle directly on your tabs. Be especially careful with tabs showing login credentials or payment screens, and confirm you trust the page before letting the extension act on it.

Source: PPC Land, October 16, 2026. Checked October 27, 2026. Read the original