There are thousands of AI apps now.

AI for writing. AI for email. AI for scheduling. AI for notes. AI for images. AI for code. AI for everything.

Every week, another one launches. Every week, another tab to open, another interface to learn, another login to remember.

But here’s what I’ve realized after trying dozens of them:

You don’t need another AI app. You need an AI agent in your browser.

Let me explain why this distinction matters.

AI Apps vs. AI Agents

Most AI tools are apps. You go to them. You give them input. They give you output. You take that output and do something with it.

ChatGPT is an app. Claude is an app. Midjourney is an app.

They’re powerful. But they’re separate from your work. You visit them, get what you need, and leave.

An AI agent is different.

An AI agent doesn’t wait for you to come to it. It’s already there, in your environment, watching what you’re doing, ready to help. And critically — it can take action. Not just give advice. Actually do things.

That’s the shift. From AI as a destination to AI as a presence. Learn more about what AI browser agents are.

Why the Browser?

Now, where should this AI agent live?

Think about where your work actually happens.

Your email? Browser. Your CRM? Browser. LinkedIn, Google Docs, Notion, Slack, your company’s internal tools? All browser.

The browser isn’t one app among many. It’s the operating system of modern work.

This is where you spend your hours. This is where the repetitive tasks pile up. This is where you need help.

An AI agent that lives in your browser can see what you see. It understands your context without you explaining it. When you’re on an email, it knows you’re on an email. When you’re on a LinkedIn profile, it sees the same profile you see.

No copying. No pasting. No context-switching.

It’s just there. Aware. Ready.

The Problem with AI Apps

Every AI app creates the same friction:

You’re doing work
You need AI help
You leave your work
You open the AI app
You explain what you were doing
You get help
You go back to your work
You apply the help

Steps 3, 4, 5, and 8 are pure overhead. Every single time.

It’s like having a brilliant advisor who sits in a different building. They can help with anything — but you have to walk there, explain the situation, walk back, and implement their advice yourself.

Now imagine that advisor sitting right next to you. They see your screen. They understand what you’re working on. And when you say “handle this” — they can actually handle it.

That’s the difference between an AI app and an AI agent. This is the fundamental problem with ChatGPT for work tasks.

What an AI Agent in Your Browser Can Do

Let me be concrete.

It can see your context.

You’re on an email thread. The agent sees the whole conversation — who said what, the tone, the history. You say “draft a reply” and it writes something that fits, without you explaining anything.

It can take action.

You say “fill out this form” and it actually fills out the form. You say “click submit” and it clicks. This isn’t advice. This is doing.

It can work across your tabs.

You have five tabs open researching a topic. The agent can read all of them, synthesize the information, and give you a summary. Try doing that with ChatGPT.

It eliminates the copy-paste tax.

No more selecting text, copying, switching tabs, pasting, explaining context, copying the response, switching back, pasting again. The agent is already in your browser. It already has the context.

This Is the Future of Work

I’m going to make a prediction:

Within two years, having an AI agent in your browser will be as normal as having a smartphone.

Right now, it feels new. Early adopters are figuring it out. Most people haven’t tried it yet.

But the productivity gap is too big to ignore. People using AI agents in their browsers are saving hours every week. Hours. Not minutes.

The tools exist today. The technology works. The only question is adoption. For the complete 2026 guide to AI browser agents, explore the full capabilities and use cases.

The Question You Should Ask

Every time you reach for an AI app — every time you open ChatGPT or Claude in a separate tab — ask yourself:

Why am I leaving my browser to get AI help for work that’s happening in my browser?

The answer, increasingly, is: you don’t have to.

AI agents live where you work. They see what you see. They act on your behalf.

This isn’t about replacing AI apps. I still use ChatGPT for long conversations and brainstorming. Different tools for different jobs.

But for browser work — which is most of my work — an AI agent just makes more sense.

Try It

The difference is hard to explain until you experience it.

Install an AI agent. Open any webpage. Ask it to summarize what you’re looking at.

Notice how you didn’t copy anything. Notice how it just knew.

That’s the moment it clicks.

Get dassi in Chrome — start your 7-day free trial and experience an AI agent where you actually work.