AI Browsers That Beat Paywalls by Imitating Humans

The emergence of AI-powered browsers represents a significant shift in how artificial intelligence interacts with web content.

However, it has also introduced unprecedented challenges for digital publishers and content creators. Last week, OpenAI released Atlas, joining a growing wave of AI browsers including Perplexity’s Comet and Microsoft’s Copilot mode in Edge, that aim to transform how people interact with the web.

Unlike traditional browsers such as Chrome or Safari, these AI browsers possess “agentic capabilities”—sophisticated tools designed to execute complex, multistep tasks autonomously.

However, their ability to seamlessly bypass paywalls and content restrictions by mimicking legitimate human users has raised serious concerns about intellectual property protection and content monetization across the digital publishing industry.

AI browsers present fundamentally new problems for media outlets and publishers ...