These tools can supercharge productivity and decision-making, yet they also come with new vulnerabilities.
Meiko S. Patton is an AI consultant and creator of Ms. Beehiiv.
OpenAI has just launched ChatGPT Atlas — a web browser with ChatGPT baked into its foundation. This is a fundamental reimagining of how we interact with the web, backed by 800 million weekly active users and OpenAI’s distribution muscle.
With competitors like Perplexity and now Microsoft Edge entering into the AI browser market, this category is heating up fast. We are officially seeing the onset of the AI browser wars as each company jockeys for the first position.
For comms professionals juggling media monitoring, competitive research, content creation, and relationship management across dozens of tabs daily, this could be your new competitive advantage.
I took the guesswork out of Atlas for you and gave it a whirl. Here’s what I found.
First things first
Quite simply, Atlas allows you to take ChatGPT with you everywhere you browse. No more copy-pasting URLs, taking screenshots or context-switching between windows. You can chat with whatever page you’re on — ask questions, get summaries or take direct actions.
For PR professionals constantly juggling research, that means analyzing a journalist’s article, competitor’s website or client’s press coverage — all without ever leaving your browser.
Another highlight is its memory. It tracks your browsing history and optionally retains “memories,” so responses become deeply personalized, transforming your browsing history from a static list of URLs into living, searchable context. Ask “What were the common themes across all the crisis communication articles I reviewed last month?” and actually get a usable answer. This is radically different from scrolling through Chrome history hoping to find that one post you vaguely remember.
This browser is where you live. It’s the primary surface for everything: email, research, documents, media monitoring, client work.
It’s good for comms pros because …
1. Contextual AI assistance
Atlas understands what you’re looking at in real time. Viewing a competitor’s press release? Ask ChatGPT to analyze their messaging strategy. Reading a journalist’s portfolio? Get instant insights into their beat and writing style.
2. Browser memories (optional)
When enabled, Atlas transforms your browsing history into queryable intelligence. It remembers pages you’ve visited and creates searchable context that persists across sessions. For comms pros, this means asking questions like: “Find all the journalist profiles I researched this month and identify which ones cover sustainability,” or “What messaging patterns did I see across competitor product launches last quarter?”
This accumulated context becomes more valuable over time — weeks or months of browsing builds a knowledge base specific to your work.
3. Agent mode
This is where things get interesting. ChatGPT can now take actions in your browser: opening tabs, filling forms, conducting research and compiling reports. Imagine giving ChatGPT a recipe and asking it to find a grocery store, add all ingredients to a cart and order them — it can do that. See an example of that here.
For comms pros, this could automate tedious tasks like:
• Building media lists from multiple sources
• Tracking down journalist contact information
• Monitoring competitor announcements across various sites
• Compiling coverage reports from different publications
• Opening and reading through past team documents to compile insights
Currently in preview for Plus, Pro and Business users, agent mode represents a significant leap toward truly autonomous AI assistants.
4. Enhanced search interface
The new tab page offers search results organized by type (links, images, videos, news), making media monitoring and research more efficient.
A few real-world Atlas-enabled examples
Example 1: Crisis monitoring and response
Scenario: A client faces negative coverage spreading across multiple publications.
With Atlas: Ask ChatGPT to “Monitor all mentions of [Client Name] across news sites over the past 24 hours and create a sentiment analysis report with key talking points we should address.” The agent mode can systematically check multiple news sources, compile findings and draft response recommendations — all while you focus on client communication.
Example 2: Media pitch personalization
Scenario: You need to pitch the same story to 20 different journalists, each requiring personalized outreach.
With Atlas: As you browse each journalist’s recent articles and social media, Atlas remembers their interests, beat focus and writing style. When you’re ready, ask: “Draft personalized pitch angles for each of the journalists I researched this morning, tailored to their specific interests.”
Example 3: Competitive intelligence
Scenario: A client wants to know how competitors are positioning themselves around an industry trend.
With Atlas: “Review the last five press releases from [Competitor A, B, C] and create a comparison table showing their key messages, spokesperson quotes and media coverage. Identify gaps in our client’s narrative.”
Example 4: Thought leadership content
Scenario: An executive needs to comment on breaking industry news.
With Atlas: While reading the breaking news article, immediately ask ChatGPT: “Draft three potential quote options for our CEO responding to this news, emphasizing our position on [specific angle]. Make them quotable and under 50 words each.”
Thumbs up: Why comms pros should use it
• Massive time savings
Eliminating the copy-paste workflow between browser and ChatGPT removes friction from dozens of daily tasks. The minutes saved per task compound quickly across a busy PR day.
• Contextual intelligence
Atlas understands what you’re looking at, not just what you ask. This means more relevant suggestions and fewer clarifying questions needed.
• Research efficiency
For media research, competitive monitoring and trend analysis — core PR activities — having AI synthesize information as you browse is genuinely valuable.
• Memory across sessions
Browser memories mean you can build up context over days or weeks. That journalist research you did last month? Atlas can recall it when you’re ready to pitch.
• Automation potential
Agent mode could genuinely automate tedious but necessary tasks: media list building, coverage tracking, reporting compilation.
• Integrated workflow
Everything happens in one place. No more juggling between research tabs, ChatGPT windows, Google Docs and spreadsheets.
• Privacy controls
Browser memories are completely optional — you can view all memories in settings, archive irrelevant ones or delete your entire browsing history to wipe associated memories.
• Competitive intelligence loop
The more you use Atlas, the smarter it gets about your specific work patterns and industry. That accumulated intelligence — understanding your clients, competitors, media contacts and research patterns — becomes increasingly valuable over months of use.
Thumbs down: I have some significant concerns
• Security and confidentiality risks
Comms professionals regularly handle embargoed announcements, confidential executive strategies, sensitive media relationships and proprietary information. Even with privacy controls, having an AI “watching” your browsing raises questions:
– What happens if you accidentally leave browser memories on while viewing confidential client documents?
– Can competitor intelligence gathered through Atlas be traced back to you?
– What if a security breach exposes your browsing history with client context?
• Agent mode vulnerabilities
OpenAI openly acknowledges that agents are “susceptible to hidden malicious instructions” that could be embedded in webpages or emails. Imagine an agent unknowingly following instructions from a malicious actor to leak data or take unwanted actions on sensitive sites. For comms pros managing internal messaging and external media relationships, this risk is substantial. Be sure to stay “logged out” when you browse.
• Accuracy and hallucination concerns
ChatGPT still hallucinates. If Atlas provides incorrect journalist contact info, mischaracterizes a competitor’s position or drafts a pitch with factual errors — you own those mistakes.
• Early-stage product
Agent mode “may make mistakes on complex workflows.” Comms work often involves complex workflows. Early adoption means being a beta tester and accidentally producing errors.
• Over-reliance risk
The easier Atlas makes things, the more tempting it becomes to let AI handle tasks that benefit from human judgment, creativity and relationship nuance — the very attributes that make great comms professionals valuable.
The bot-tom line
Consider adopting if:
• You’re drowning in research and monitoring tasks
• Your work involves significant secondary research and analysis
• You’re comfortable with technology and willing to troubleshoot
• You work primarily on nonconfidential or less sensitive accounts
• Your organization has clear AI usage policies and approval
• You’re disciplined about fact-checking AI outputs
Proceed with caution if:
• You handle highly confidential client information regularly
• Your clients have strict data security requirements
• You’re in a regulated industry (finance, healthcare, government)
• You’re prone to trusting AI outputs without verification
Avoid for now if:
• You have clients or partners who explicitly prohibit AI tool usage
• Security and confidentiality are paramount to your practice
• You’re uncomfortable with emerging technology risks
• You don’t have clear organizational policies around AI usage
My recommendation: Experiment with Atlas on nonconfidential work first. Use it for personal research, industry monitoring and skill development. Observe how it handles complex tasks, where it fails and what safeguards work. Only after thoroughly understanding its capabilities and limitations — and securing proper approvals — should you consider integrating it into client-facing work.
The Atlas browser isn’t inherently good or bad for comms professionals. Like any powerful tool, its value depends entirely on how wisely you wield it. But make no mistake: this category of technology will reshape how professional communications work gets done.
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