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ChatGPT Atlas launched worldwide for macOS on October 21, 2025, bringing ChatGPT assistance into the browser. It is no longer a working browser: OpenAI scheduled Atlas to stop working on August 9, 2026. Its launch-era features and migration guidance matter now mainly to former users preserving browser data.
What happened to ChatGPT Atlas?
OpenAI announced Atlas on October 21, 2025, as a browser built around ChatGPT. It launched worldwide on macOS, with access varying by plan and workspace. The launch announcement described Windows, iOS, and Android experiences as coming soon; that was a statement about the 2025 launch, not current availability. OpenAI’s later transition guide says Atlas was scheduled to stop working on August 9, 2026. That date has passed, so the launch download should not be treated as a current, supported way to get a working browser.
Atlas’s central idea was to put ChatGPT in the browsing flow rather than require users to switch between a browser and a separate chat. At launch, the browser offered a new-tab field for questions or URLs, categorized search results, an Ask ChatGPT sidebar, inline writing assistance, optional browser memories, and personalized suggestions. Users could also import bookmarks, saved passwords, and browsing history from another browser.
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Who could use it at launch?
OpenAI said Atlas was available on macOS to Free, Plus, Pro, and Go users. Business access was in beta, while Enterprise and Edu availability depended on administrator enablement. These were launch terms, not present-day access options.
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How did Atlas’s ChatGPT features work?
The sidebar and agent mode served different purposes. Ask ChatGPT could help explain a page, extract details, or draft text based on what was visible. Agent mode, offered as a preview for Plus, Pro, and Business users at launch, could navigate pages, click controls, and work through multi-step browser tasks. OpenAI’s examples included research, planning, booking appointments, and preparing a grocery cart.
OpenAI described limits on the agent: it could not run code in the browser, download files, install extensions, or access other apps or the local file system. The launch materials also said it could pause on certain sensitive sites, and that using Atlas while logged out could limit access to sensitive information. OpenAI cautioned that the preview could make mistakes on complex workflows.
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What could Atlas’s browser agent access?
The agent could interact with web pages in the browser, so its practical reach depended on the pages and account state available in that session. OpenAI described restrictions and safeguards, but not a guarantee that every sensitive action or attack would be blocked. A malicious instruction embedded in a web page or email can pose a prompt-injection risk when an agent reads it while operating in a logged-in browser. OpenAI warned users to monitor agent activity; in a December 22, 2025 security post, it described ongoing hardening and a mitigation update following internal automated red teaming.
For tasks involving accounts, purchases, or personal information, users should treat browser-agent actions as consequential and supervise them rather than assuming the agent can safely distinguish every legitimate instruction from malicious page content.
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How can former Atlas users preserve bookmarks and browsing data?
OpenAI’s transition guide advised users to export bookmarks as an HTML file and import them into another browser. It also warned that bookmarks do not transfer automatically; open tabs and browsing history may not transfer automatically either. Because OpenAI’s published stop-working date has passed, the guide is transition advice—not confirmation that Atlas remains available for exporting data.
- In Atlas, use its bookmark export option to save bookmarks as an HTML file, if Atlas is still accessible on your device.
- In Chrome, open the three-dot menu and choose Bookmarks and lists > Import bookmarks and settings.
- Select the saved HTML bookmarks file and complete the import. Check the destination browser afterward to confirm the bookmarks are present.
OpenAI says Atlas cookie and session files are sensitive and cannot be imported into another browser. That means active sign-ins should not be expected to carry over; sign in again directly in the destination browser. If Atlas is no longer usable, the cited guide does not establish that you can recover unsaved tabs, history, or bookmarks from it.
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Will Atlas shutdown delete ChatGPT conversations?
OpenAI distinguishes ChatGPT conversation history from Atlas browser data. Conversations are separate from browser bookmarks, tabs, and history, and remain available subject to the user’s plan, workspace settings, and account access. Atlas’s shutdown therefore should not be confused with automatic deletion of ChatGPT chats; access to those conversations still depends on the account and workspace.
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What privacy controls did Atlas offer?
OpenAI described browser memories as optional and tied to the user’s account, with controls to view, archive, or remove memories by deleting relevant browsing history. Page visibility controls let users exclude sites from ChatGPT’s view and browser-memory use.
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OpenAI’s privacy guide also describes an opt-in “Include web browsing” control for model training when “Improve the model for everyone” is enabled. For users on macOS 26, it describes an on-device summarization option under which web content is not sent to OpenAI servers. These are specific vendor-described controls; they should not be read as a blanket claim that browsing data was never transmitted or used.
What should Atlas users use instead?
OpenAI’s transition guide points to its ChatGPT desktop browser-based agent experience and, where available, its ChatGPT Chrome extension or sidebar. Availability can vary by plan, region, device, browser, and workspace settings. These options are not identical to Atlas, and no complete independent feature comparison is established here. When choosing a replacement, check first that it is supported and receiving updates, then confirm its operating-system and plan requirements, migration options, agent permissions and approval checkpoints, memory and training controls, and boundaries around local data.
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