When The Browser Company announced they were ending Arc and developing an agentic browser that could leverage AI in ways other browsers were not, I was skeptical. I was starting to see the value in AI, but using it in such a way seemed like just another crutch for users to lean on — so they didn’t have to take the time to do those things themselves.
I also saw it as a possible security and privacy issue.
Also: Love Arc browser? You can get early access to its new AI-powered replacement
And then I was accepted into the Dia beta program. After installing Dia on my MacBook, I saw it in action, and, well, it’s impressive. Really impressive.
What is Dia?
Dia is a web browser based on Chromium. On the surface, it looks like Chromium, which means The Browser Company didn’t take the Arc aesthetic as a baseline for how the browser would look and function. There are no vertical tabs, no spaces, no theming. As far as the naked eye is concerned, it’s just another Chrome-like browser. Yee haw.
What is an agentic browser?
An agentic browser is a type of web browser designed to enhance user experience by automating tasks and improving workflow through the use of artificial intelligence.
Also: Opera teases Neon, its first agentic browser – join the waitlist to try it
The key features of an agentic browser are:
- Automation of tasks
- A natural language interface
- An understanding of user intent
- Cross-platform workflow
Let me explain how the Dia agentic browser works.
Let’s say you want to buy a nightgown on Amazon. Normally, you’d open your browser (or a new tab), go to Amazon, search for the criteria that meet your needs, scroll through the results, and once you find the nightgown you want, purchase it.
With an agentic browser, you could type, say, “I want to buy a white Victorian nightgown with spaghetti straps on Amazon.”
Dia then scans Amazon with that criteria and lists available options. If it doesn’t offer photos of the options, you can follow up with, “Show me photos of the results,” and Dia will add photos. If one of the matches meets your needs, you click the associated link and purchase the item.
At the moment, Dia cannot actually make the purchase for you (I tested that by instructing it to purchase one of the results, at which point it responded by saying that it couldn’t make the purchase, but here are the steps on how to do so).
Even so, I could click on the link for the item and purchase it the “old-fashioned” way.
Remember, this is beta software, so it’s not the final product. I imagine The Browser Company will add the ability to Dia so that it can follow through with the purchase for you. That’s a guess, but I believe it’s where agentic browsers are heading.
That’s the thorn in the side of this new technology.
Also: How I made Perplexity AI the default search engine in my browser (and why you should too)
Imagine you instruct an agentic browser to purchase a white Victorian nightgown with spaghetti straps on Amazon, and you don’t give it a price range. What happens if the browser purchases the most expensive nightgown on the site? Or maybe it accidentally purchases ten nightgowns.
You see where this could lead?
Setting that particular concern aside, I have to say that I’m seriously impressed with Dia. There are so many things this browser can do for you. For example, I woke up this morning, opened a Dia tab, and instructed it to show me the news headlines for this morning. Dia did an outstanding job of curating news items for me from various sources. I also remembered you can add a bit of personalization to Dia so it knows your influences and who you are, allowing it to make more informed decisions.
Why use an agentic browser?
This question popped into my head numerous times while using Dia, and the answer wasn’t immediately forthcoming. During my testing, I kept thinking, “But I can do all of this myself.” It’s not like jumping onto Amazon to search for an article of clothing is all that challenging.
Also: Perplexity AI teases a new browser ‘for agentic search’
Eventually, a realization hit me: when using Dia this way, I rid myself of clutter and confusion. Although Amazon is a fairly straightforward site, it can get a bit overwhelming, especially when you’re dealing with sponsored deals and such. I rarely find sponsored deals worth clicking on, and sometimes those wind up as the top results, so I end up having to scroll and scroll. With Dia (or any agentic browser), that’s no longer an issue. I query what I’m looking for, Dia does the work, and when it presents its findings, I can quickly view them and, if interested, click a link to the product.
Of course, shopping isn’t the only thing you can do with Dia. Consider these actions:
- Dia can engage in direct conversation with open web pages so you can ask questions about what’s on the page, get summaries, and extract key points.
- In-line writing assistance helps you fill out any text box across the web.
- Contextual learning and research can serve as a tutor or assistant for all your research needs.
- Intelligent planning helps you gather necessary information, compare details, and make informed decisions based on any context you provide.
I would venture to say that there’s a whole lot more you can do with Dia, and by the time it comes out of beta, there’ll be even more options.
The future of agentic browsing
Agentic browsing is in its infancy, and it’s already proving to be fascinating technology. While I see the value in what agentic browsers can do, I also see possible pitfalls, such as the aforementioned shopping scenario.
I could also foresee issues with agentic browsers not getting your travel plans right (imagine booking a flight to London, Kentucky, when you meant London, England). Or you’ve queried it to buy certain stocks and, instead, it sells your stocks.
I’m not saying these things will happen; I’m saying they could happen, and that could be devastating.
Also: This Google Chrome update could change the fundamentals of browsing – here’s who gets to try it first
I believe The Browser Company is fully capable of delivering an experience that avoids such outcomes, and what I’ve seen with Dia is game-changing. I do believe, however, that companies producing such technology need to ensure safeguards are in place to protect consumers and users.
We are at a tipping point, where AI is primed to take over so much of what we do, and users must always remember that safety, privacy, and intent are taken seriously.
I’m excited about what’s to come for Dia and The Browser Company and believe the agentic browser is the next step we’ll take to better bridge the traditional web browser with the modern power of AI.
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