Microsoft has a long track record of discouraging Chrome downloads via Edge or Bing, and we might see a repeat telecast for OpenAI’s ChatGPT Atlas, which is the overvalued startup’s first agentic browser. While ChatGPT Atlas is not yet available on Windows, OpenAI has promised it’s coming, and Microsoft wants to be prepared.

Right now, when you open Bing.com and search for Google Chrome or Google, you’ll be nudged to use Microsoft Edge.

For example, I searched for Chrome on Bing, and then Bing told me to keep using Microsoft Edge because it has a built-in VPN (Cloudflare), Microsoft Rewards integration, and, of course, nobody’s favorite – Copilot (AI personalization).

If you skip Bing’s warning and head straight to Google Chrome’s download page, you will come across another pop-up that reminds you how Edge is a better choice because it’s built on the same technology as Chrome, so why would you even ditch Edge, right? Well, that’s what Microsoft wants you to believe.

Windows Latest understands that Microsoft is mulling a similar strategy for the ChatGPT Atlas browser.

This is based on the experimental flags I spotted in Edge Canary (you need to scan the updates using a script to find the flags):

• msEdgeAtlasDownloadBingReferrerHideIntercept
• msEdgeAtlasDownloadIntercept
• msEdgeAtlasDownloadInterceptTreatmentParam

These flags make it quite obvious that if ChatGPT Atlas lands on Windows, Edge already looks ready to “intercept” it. Edge has similar flags for Google Chrome, and I’ve already shown how they work in the above example.

For those unaware, ChatGPT Atlas is an agentic browser that browses the web on your behalf based on prompts.

For example, if you prompt ChatGPT to buy tickets for your family vacation, the Atlas browser will open several tabs, start visiting websites on its own, and then use your details to select the best trip plan.

Is Microsoft scared of ChatGPT Atlas?

Microsoft might not be scared, but it does not want to lose its customers due to the “agentic” features of ChatGPT Atlas, some of which are already offered in Edge.

OpenAI does not have its own operating system (yet). However, ChatGPT is used by millions every day, and when OpenAI starts pushing users to try the Atlas browser on ChatGPT.com, it could threaten Edge’s recent popularity.

More importantly, Microsoft likely does not want to lose out to ChatGPT Atlas for “missing agentic” features because Copilot in Edge already turns it into an agentic browser. However, Copilot in Edge is not as cool as ChatGPT Atlas or Perplexity Comet, and it’s also limited to certain regions.

An agentic browser like ChatGPT Atlas with a strong distribution channel can threaten Edge’s recent growth. At the same time, as all browsers embrace AI, we might need a browser that allows us to do the browsing, but nobody wants to build a “simple” browser anymore.

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